Two dead after rafting accident on remote section of Selway River

Two people died in an apparent rafting accident on a remote stretch of the Selway River on Saturday afternoon, according to the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office.

The accident happened in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, between Double Drop and Wa-Poots. The area is “approximately 19 miles from the end of the road and is not accessible by motor vehicle,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office that was distributed Monday.

The names of the two people who died weren’t released, pending notification of their families.

On Saturday afternoon, Idaho County Dispatch received a call from the International Emergency Response Coordination Center that said it had received an SOS from a Garmin inReach device advising CPR was in progress at a location along the Selway River. About two hours later, a text came to 911 stating that a second person in the party also had fallen into the water and CPR was in progress on them. The second location was about 2 miles downstream from the original SOS.

Life Flight responded to the first location, and found the patient was dead. The service also confirmed the death of the second patient. Because of the location and equipment needed, Life Flight wasn’t able to transport the deceased patients, according to the sheriff’s office news release.

The U.S. Forest Service attempted to reach the location via mules, but was unable to get there because of steep terrain.

On Sunday, Two Bear Air responded. Because of flooding conditions and steep terrain, its crew used their helicopter winch system to get both victims out of the canyon to Cedar Flats, where they were turned over to the Idaho County Coroner, according to the news release.