Three tubers are dead and two others are unaccounted for after the group floated over a dam along a river in North Carolina while participating in a tubing event.
A group of approximately nine people was participating in “tubing” along the Dan River in Eden, North Carolina on Wednesday night before the group went over a Duke Energy dam, ABC11 reported on Friday.
The Rockland County Sheriff’s office told ABC11 that several of the group’s tubes had come untied at some point while in the river, causing the equipment and the group to float over the dam and then downstream.
Three tubers dead, two missing after going over dam in North Carolina https://t.co/gA99YTy3Hb pic.twitter.com/CXPXZ6YglL
— New York Post (@nypost) June 18, 2021
Construction workers in the area found four of the nine men Thursday afternoon, reportedly hanging from “various items” along the dam, with all four of the men being taken to the hospital for treatment, ABC11 reported.
During a search of the area Thursday night, three bodies were discovered along the river, according to ABC11. Two of the men are still reportedly unaccounted for. (RELATED: Shocking Video Shows Boaters Rescued Just As They’re About To Tumble Over Dam)
“We’re going to stay positive that we can do a rescue rather than a recovery,” Rockingham County Emergency Services Director Rodney Cates told ABC11 regarding the search efforts for the missing tubers.
A tubing excursion on North Carolina’s Dan River turned tragic when a group went over a dam—leaving three dead and two missing https://t.co/KhLKDLUyDn
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 18, 2021
Cates told ABC11 that the office had conducted both air and water searches for the missing pair, including flying six miles into Virginia and flying adjacent ground areas to locate the two tubers.
The search reportedly resumed Friday morning, with the investigation running from the Duke Energy plant to the Virginia border, WFMY reported.