A fisherman has died after discharge from a dam floodgate sucked his boat underwater.
A.J. Re’, 23, was killed in the freak boating accident on Saturday while fishing below the Fort Loudoun Dam in eastern Tennessee, the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency confirmed.
Two friends in the boat with him survived. They were identified as Donald McCorkle, 49, and his son Clint McCorkle, 22. All three men were from North Carolina.
The three fishermen were in a 22-foot boat that got too close to the downriver side of the dam, which was discharging through its floodgates, at around 10am on Saturday, the TWRA said in a statement.
The 22-foot boat got too close to the downriver side of the Fort Loudoun Dam (pictured)
‘Witnesses say that the boat appeared to be attempting to reach an area towards the middle of the dam where only one floodgate out of eleven was not spilling water,’ the agency said.
‘As the boat got too close, it was pulled into the falling water and forced under sending all three occupants overboard.’
The Tennessee River was crowded with weekend fishermen, and other boats rushed to the submerged boaters’ assistance, officials said.
Authorities believe all three men were wearing life-jackets, but that some of them were torn off due to the tremendous force of the water.
Clint McCorkle said on Sunday that he and his father had been released from the hospital and were home recovering.
Clint McCorkle (left) said on Sunday that he and his father had been released from the hospital and were home recovering, and asked for prayers for Re’s family
‘Thank everyone for their prayers,’ he wrote on Facebook. ‘Me and a Dad are home and doing well. We would have never made it if it weren’t for the awesome EMT’s and paramedics.’
‘Please continue to pray for AJ’s family. Rest In Peace, I love you man.’
Officials issued numerous warnings to boaters in the days before the fatal accident, which they reiterated after the death.
‘Due to recent heavy rainfall, many of Tennessee’s waterways are very treacherous with high volumes of flowing water,’ said the TWRA on Saturday.
‘Please exercise extreme caution when boating in moving water, especially where water is being discharged from floodgates and spillways.’