ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — The Madison-Rockingham Rescue Squad saved several teenagers and a child on the Dan River near Madison Thursday.
Rescue squad chief Rusty Gray said the three teenagers and an eight-year-old child were tubing near the area where the Dan and Mayo Rivers meet.
"They got down to the first section of rapids there and it was more than that little tube could handle and they were out and in the water and I think the 8-year-old had some time that they were submerged," said Gray.
Gray said no one was hurt and it was the squad's first rescue of the year. He said they usually don't do rescues until June but worries more people might head out on the water due to the coronavirus.
"Especially while things are still closed. You know you can't go to the movies, you can't go roller skating, you know there's nothing to do," said Gray, "I think it's probably something that we're gonna see more is recreational use of the rivers and lakes and everything."
Rescue squads in cities like Greensboro and Winston-Salem said despite folks looking to get out of the house, water activity seems about the same. Those squads said they haven't had more rescues than usual.
Gray said safety is the most important thing out on the water.
"We recommend that you have a plan, that you're gonna start here and end here. You notify someone when you're starting and when your expected end time is," said Gray, "And bring a cell phone. That was the key to locating these folks really was 911 center doing the work to ping the phone."