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Victim identified in Green River drowning incident

Craig Press Staff
Triplet Falls on the Green River near Dinosaur National Monument.
National Park Service/Courtesy Photo

The victim of a rafting accident in Triplet Falls on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument on July 6 was identified Sunday in a release from National Park Service.

The victim was identified as Anthony Vasi, 47, from Newport Beach, California.

Vasi was part of a group that included family and friends on a commercial rafting trip.



Dinosaur National Monument received notification via satellite text message at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, July 6 of a boating accident on the Green River at Triplet Falls. Initial reports were that a raft flipped and an adult male was unconscious. Search and Rescue response was coordinated among staff from Dinosaur National Monument, Classic Air Medical, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, according to the release.

At approximately 12:15 p.m. Saturday, a commercial raft entered a feature in the rapids at Triplet Falls known as “the Birth Canal” and became stuck on one of the rocks. Several passengers, including Vasi, were ejected into the water. Vasi was responsive while trapped in the water, but initial attempts to pull him out were unsuccessful, according to the release.

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Vasi became unresponsive when being moved from behind the rock into the main current by a rescue swimmer. Another boat assisted with moving Vasi onto a gravel bar downstream of the rapid, where CPR was immediately initiated. Members of the rafting trip continued to provide CPR until care was transitioned to the helicopter flight crew of Classic Air Medical, who arrived on the scene at 1:30 p.m. and declared Vasi deceased.

“Classic Air Medical transported Vasi by helicopter to the Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal, Utah on Saturday afternoon,” the release stated. “At the same time, Dinosaur National Monument rangers traveled by raft to the scene of the incident to conduct an investigation and assist the rest of the group in reaching Echo Park, where they exited the river on Sunday around noon.”

The release added that Triplet Falls on the Green River has a Class III difficulty rating and is located along the Green River in a remote portion of Dinosaur National Monument with a river flow of approximately 2,350 cubic feet per second at the time of the incident.


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