Five people safe after boat overturns on North Fork

A group of unlucky boaters got a little help Saturday after overturning on the North Fork of the Flathead River.

According to Flathead County Search and Rescue Coordinator Brian Heino, a call came in about 4:25 p.m. regarding an overturned boat carrying five people.

“There are some pretty nasty rapids just north of Glacier Rim, where there’s a big shelf. The boat overturned there, dropping the occupants,” Heino said. “They were able to swim to the park side, and another boat in their party was able to get them back across to the other side.”

Scanner traffic indicated the people were out of the water within seven minutes of the initial call being made by dispatchers.

“We launched a jet boat out of North Valley Search and Rescue and notified the park service, while we responded with a swift-water team,” Heino said. “We were able to go up and shuttle them back to Glacier Rim with the jet boat.”

No one was injured.