TURNERS FALLS — A man believed to be in his 20s drowned in the Connecticut River near Migratory Way on Saturday evening, despite first responders’ efforts to revive him using CPR.
According to Turners Falls Fire Chief Luke Hartnett, a Montague Police Department dispatcher received a “frantic” call just before 6 p.m.
“There was a group of folks down there,” he said. “One of them went under [the water] and was unable to come back up.”
Hartnett described the incident as an all-hands-on-deck situation, drawing a response from the Turners Falls Fire Department, the Montague Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Gill Police Department, the Northfield Dive/Rescue Team and the Greenfield Fire Department. Additionally, the Bernardston Fire Department provided station coverage in Greenfield and the Montague Center Fire Department covered the Turners Falls station.
Trying to gain access to the man while fighting the strong current of the Connecticut River proved to be the greatest challenge for first responders, Hartnett said. Gaining access to the location was also difficult. Hartnett described the site, also known as the Rock Dam, as being about a quarter-mile walk from Migratory Way.
“One of our big warnings is that people should avoid swimming in the river because of the undertow,” Hartnett said, noting how much the divers experienced being pulled by the current themselves. “On top, it may seem like docile water.
“Without life jackets and protective equipment, people should not be swimming in the river,” he emphasized.
After first responders managed to reach the man, who Hartnett believes was in his 20s and was not from town, and pull him to shore, CPR was administered. According to Hartnett, the man was taken by American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance, with CPR continuing during transport, to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A second ambulance with Northfield EMS also responded, he added, to transport someone on shore who, “due to the nature of the incident, began to hyperventilate [and] have difficulty breathing.” She was taken to Baystate Franklin and is all right, Hartnett said.
No emergency personnel were injured during the response, Hartnett added. He noted that the Turners Falls Fire Department plans to hold a “critical stress debriefing,” which he described as a “therapy session for critical, high-stress incidents,” early in the week with Western Mass EMS to help the crew “digest what they’ve just seen and dealt with.”
“One of the things we’re trying to do is work on our mental health,” he said. “You can put a Band-Aid on a cut, but mental health, it takes a toll.”
Noting that this isn’t the first time someone has drowned at this location off Migratory Way, Hartnett said he would like to work with the Montague Police Department and FirstLight Hydro Generating Co., which owns the river’s access area, on potential measures that can prevent future tragedies.
“It’s unfortunate any time we lose a life,” Hartnett said. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.”
Welman Hernandez-Diaz, 35, of Worcester, drowned in the Connecticut River in the area of the Rock Dam in Turners Falls in August 2020.
