2 men, boy on stranded boat rescued in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Firefighters had to rescue two men and a 5-year-old boy whose stranded boat was in danger of being swept over a dam in South Bend.

The boaters had to hold onto a concrete pillar of the Jefferson Street Bridge until firefighters could secure the boat Sunday evening and pull it to the St. Joseph River’s shore.

Boater Greg Heyed tells WNDU-TV that the boat’s motor wouldn’t start as it approached the waterfall and that its anchor wasn’t holding. The people on the boat weren’t injured.

Battalion Chief Al Kirsits tells WSBT-TV that the river is dangerous now because its water level is high with a swift current.