Hippo Rescue

Crews rescued a Minnesota man from the St. Croix River in Wisconsin after he spent 12 hours stuck in the water. Why did it take so long? The guy stuck in the river weighed in excess of 500 pounds-- three attempts to rescue him failed, with success coming only on the fourth attempt.

As reported by WCCO-TV, it seems that quarter-ton Martin Rike and his group had gone tubing on the river when Martin's tube went flat about two miles south of Fox Landing (DD editorial note: Just one tube? Come on!). After attempting to get out of the water and walk back, Rike, 39, began having chest pains. He then slipped on the rocks, injuring an ankle and a knee.

When crews attempted to rescue Rike by boat, they found the water was too shallow, causing the boat to get caught on the rocks. A few hours later, a hovercraft was dispatched to try to retrieve Rike-- but soon after, authorities reported the hovercraft effort had failed. According to Chief Deputy Ovick, an aircraft that was later recruited for the effort also had to give up, because it could not lift that amount of weight.

Burnett County authorities initiated efforts to hire a helicopter from Traverse City, Mich (the closest location with a heavy-duty hoist)-- but then decided that good old-fashioned manpower was the only way to go. Rescuers somehow managed to load Rike onto a make-shift raft made of wood and three canoes.

"There wasn't enough water for it to float, so they physically used that as a stretcher," Ovick said. 50 rescuers took turns hoisting the boat, carrying it two feet at a time, until they found a spot in the river deep enough for the boat to float (under a quarter ton of cargo) down to a waiting ambulance.

Rike was pulled from the river around 8 a.m., nearly 12 hours after rescue attempts began. He was reported to be in stable condition at the Burnett Medical Center in Granstburg, where he was reported to be in stable condition. Rike said he appreciated everything done to rescue him. "Without those people, I would still be out there," he said.