Three kayakers were rescued from the Rock River Sunday, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR said the three men had swamped their kayaks and “nearly drowned” upstream from the Hennepin Canal Parkway levee.
DNR says several agencies were called to the area late Sunday afternoon. Several responding agencies could not make it to the area because of major flood conditions under the Hwy 92 bridge. The DNR said one conservation officer was able to launch his plate boat off of a flooded roadway near Big Island Road. The officer found the men upstream from the bridge.
Two of the men were hanging onto tree limbs and a third man managed to stay in his kayak. All three were taken to waiting medical crews exhausted, scratched and bruised, but they refused medical treatment.
Despite major flood conditions, the Rock River is not closed to recreational boaters at this time. The Illinois DNR says the decision to close the river is left up to individual sheriff’s department.