Two men were fished out of the Mississippi River Saturday after their boat capsized below the Keokuk dam spillways.
“They were anchored up by the spillways fishing,” said Kevin Baker of the Keokuk Volunteer Emergency Corps. “When they went to start their 24-foot boat, the anchor line was wrapped around the prop. When the motor started, the rope got tighter and tighter. They tried to cut the line, but it couldn’t be reached. The tight rope flipped the boat and it capsized.”
Baker was called to the river at about 8:45 p.m., but by the time he and his crew arrived, a fishing boat had pulled Eric Jacobson and Jason Kaylor from the water. Ages and addresses of the two men were not available this morning.
The current had taken them downstream to the area of the Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge by the time they were rescued, Baker said.
Baker, Jeremy Guymon and Charlie Biddenstadt recovered the overturned boat.
The men sustained lacerations on their heads and were taken to Keokuk Area Hospital by Lee County EMS, according to Keokuk Fire Chief Gabe Rose. The fire department was called to the river at 8:42 p.m. Saturday.
