MDOT Contractors Rescued After Boat Sinks Near Frankenmuth

FRANKENMUTH (WWJ) - A pair of contractors working on a bridge project have been rescued from a frigid river near Frankenmuth after their boat sank Tuesday morning.

According to Frankenmuth police, the boat had taken on water and sunk in the middle of the Cass River — and the current was too strong for the two occupants to swim to shore.

They were in the water for about 45 minutes, police say, before they were caught by firefighters downstream and pulled shore.

Both boaters — who an Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) spokesperson says were contractors assisting in the M-83 Bridge Project — were taken by EMS to Saginaw area hospitals and treated for symptoms of hypothermia. Their names have not been released.

It's unclear at this time what caused the initial problems with the boat.

Assisting with the rescue were Frankenmuth Police and Fire, Michigan State Police and Mobile Medical Response.  The Saginaw County Dive Team was activated but first responders had the boaters out of the water before they arrived.