Two water rescues reported in Wichita; no injuries

Emergency crews had to help multiple people on Wednesday who needed assistance in getting out of fast-flowing bodies of water.

Early Wednesday afternoon, two young girls were rescued from the rushing waters of a creek that runs through north Wichita’s Dr. Glen Dey Park. They are safe and back with their families.

The mother of one of the girls said her daughter was shaken but OK after Wichita firefighters plucked her and a playmate off a rock where they were trapped at around 1:30 p.m. The girls are 11 and 9.

“I’m just glad they were there” to save them, the mother said of the rescuers.

Crews with Wichita Fire Department Station 10 came to the rescue after receiving a 911 call at 1:16 p.m., a Sedgwick County dispatcher said.

The park and creek are near 28th Street North and Hillside.

Operations Capt. Nicholas Woods said after the rescue that it was immediately unclear where along the creek the girls went into the water, “but they ended up possibly going over the falls” before hanging on to a rock to escape the current.

They were rescued just north of a playground area in the park.

“We got on both sides of the creek, stretched ropes and then extricated the children from the water,” Woods said.

“The rescue went fine with no issues.”

Paramedics who evaluated the girls noted only minor injuries, Woods said. They were able to go home with their families afterward.

Woods urged parents and children to be careful around the city’s creeks, especially with the recent rainfalls. Just a small amount of water can sweep a person off his or her feet quickly, he said.

“Creeks in general are always dangerous, but especially at this time of year, and especially with the amount of rain that we’ve gotten recently, all the creeks in the area are flooded,” Woods said.

“The water is moving very rapidly, which causes even more danger” to anyone playing nearby.

About the girls’ rescue Wednesday, he said: “This was just a bad circumstance and just happened to turn out well this time.”

Later Wednesday afternoon, Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies, along with emergency crews, were dispatched to a man and three children having trouble paddling a canoe out of the fast-flowing Arkansas River near Derby.

According to the Wichita Fire Department, the people in the canoe were eventually able to paddle themselves out of the river.

They had no injuries.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Two water rescues reported in Wichita; no injuries."