Number 12 Amy Kirsch
In June of 2020, Colorado woman Amy Kirsch suffered a fatal accident while on a guided
rafting trip down the San Juan River. The 43-year-old woman was thrown from the raft on a
white water section of the river, north of Pagosa Springs. Her husband and three teenage children
could only watch in horror as she was swept downstream for several miles. Even though she
was wearing a life jacket, a helmet and protective headgear, Kirsch was swiftly overwhelmed by the
raging waters. A guide in a separate boat caught up with the woman, on an island in the river,
and started CPR. Kirsch was then rushed to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Number 11 Maria Noakes
On March 3rd of 2018, professional kayaker Maria Noakes drowned while paddling down the
Cheoah River, in North Carolina. The woman, a New Zealand white water champion, was accompanied at
the time by her two teenage sons. Noakes had been paddling the river for over a decade and it wasn’t
considered a challenge for her. She’d previously competed in races in which she shot over Class V,
or expert level, waterfalls. Those who knew the 50-year-old kayaker were shocked by the incident,
which some have described as a “fatal fluke”. It happened below a rapid portion of the river
known as “Python”. The exact circumstances of the accident aren’t known but Noakes’ boat was
found pinned against a bank while her body was recovered downstream. In the wake of her demise,
hundreds of condolence messages, ranging from New Zealand to Kathmandu, filled her social media.
Number 10 Costa Rica Bachelor Party Accident In October of 2018, a group of friends,
celebrating a bachelor party in Costa Rica, was involved in a brutal white water rafting accident.
Wind and rain had initially delayed the trip but the guides eventually gave it the green light.
14 men were grouped into three rafts, alongside 5 guides, and went down the Naranjo River. Within
minutes, the relentless currents caused the rafts to capsize. Most of the men stranded
in the turbulent waters managed to grab on to rocks or barriers in the river. The remaining 5,
including the groom’s brother as well as a local guide, were unable to fight the currents
and were carried downstream. They were lost to the river and it took rescuers over 5 hours to
recover their lifeless bodies. An investigation was launched into the incident to determine what
responsibility rested with the guides for pursuing the trip, in spite of dangerous conditions.
Number 9 Lauren Seitz
Ohio teenager Lauren Seitz succumbed to primary amebic meningoencephalitis, in 2016, as a
consequence of a white water rafting experience in North Carolina. In June, the 18-year-old was part
of a church group that embarked on the trip at the US National Whitewater Center, in Charlotte.
An investigation revealed that Seitz only went underwater when her raft overturned. In doing
so she contracted a brain-eating amoeba that’s naturally present in the water. Called Naegleria
Fowleri, it enters the human body through the nose and travels to the brain, causing a severe
infection. The Center for Disease Control only reports about 10 cases per year, but the outcome
is typically fatal. The center claimed that it got its water from a system that was treated
with chlorine and ultraviolet radiation, meant to render the amoeba inactive. Yet, Seitz died just
over a week after her church group returned from the trip, with the CDC suspecting Naegleri Fowleri
as the cause of her passing. Number 8 Joshua Paroci
Australian man Joshua Paroci died in a white water rafting incident on the Shotover River, near
Queenstown, in May of 2018. Paroci, a New South Wales policeman, was on a raft with six other
tourists and a guide. Powerful currents overturned their boat and they fell into the violent waters.
Paroci was being pulled to safety from a section which was called the “Toilet”, due to
its swirling currents. The 31-year-old then lost his grip and was swallowed by the oncoming rapid.
A safety kayaker aided him in navigating to shore but, shortly after reaching land,
Paroci became unresponsive. He was treated by a paramedic. In spite of CPR and the use of a
defibrillator, the man didn’t recover. The survivors were airlifted to a local hospital
where they were examined and offered counselling. Number 7 Unnamed British Soldier
In June of 2012 an unnamed British soldier lost his life while white water rafting in Austria. The
22-year-old was with a Logistic Support Regiment based in Germany. The trip was offered to him and
other servicemen as an “adventurous training activity”. He and 7 others arrived at Landeck,
in western Austria, and were in the third raft to go down the river. Shortly after they set off,
a massive wave overturned their raft. As the servicemen tried to turn it upright,
the victim lost his grip on the boat and was swept downstream, where his body was later found. In the
incident’s aftermath doubts were cast on whether the rafting experience should’ve even taken place,
considering the torrential rains that the region had experienced
leading up to it. Number 6 Samantha Morton
Shortly after finishing a degree on adventure tourism, Samantha Morton headed for Thailand
to experience white water rafting. She arrived in the Mae Taeng district, in August of 2006.
Shortly after embarking on the trip, violent rapids flipped her raft and the 23-year-old, along
with other tourists, ended up in the water. As the currents carried her away, a local man tried to
save her by throwing a rope in the water. Morton held on to the rope, at first, but it then wrapped
around her leg and pulled her underwater. The local man, who’d rushed to her aid, was ultimately
forced to let go as he was being dragged towards the rapids. Morton’s life was claimed by the river
and her remains were recovered downstream. Number 5 Michael Eather
In 2017, Brisbane electrician Michael Eather left Australia to embark on the trip of a lifetime.
He visited Canada and the United States before reaching South America. About a week
after Eather and a group of friends had travelled through Antigua, the 23-year-old went rafting in
Guatemala. On January 23rd, he was accompanied by a Portuguese companion as they rafted the
fast-flowing rapids of Rio Cahabon. At one point during the trip, their raft capsized after it was
struck by powerful waves. As they went over a big drop, the two men became separated in the water.
Eather’s companion was found the following day, wandering through the jungle.
Eather, however, was never seen again. After the Guatemalan authorities concluded their search,
Eather’s family set up a GoFundMe campaign to pay for further exploration into harsher terrain.
It was ultimately concluded that, even if the young man had survived the initial drop,
he would’ve swiftly succumbed to swim failure. His final resting place is believed to be an
underwater cave which, due to the strength of the currents, is physically impossible to reach.
Number 4 Matthew Hitchman
In August of 2017, Matthew Hitchman, his classmates and his teachers, were on a month-long
trek through the Andes. The 17-year-old UK student and the other members of the trip were taking part
in a community project to provide sustainable income tourism to one of Ecuador’s remote
areas. One portion of the experience involved white water rafting. During the downriver trip,
Hitchman was thrown from the raft as it approached some aggressive rapids and got caught in rocks.
A number of his fellow rafters jumped in the river and tried to rescue him. While undoubtedly heroic,
their efforts ultimately proved futile. Hitchman’s foot had gotten caught in rocks that prevented him
from resurfacing and he drowned. Hitchman’s grief-stricken parents subsequently expressed
their gratitude towards the teens who’d forgone their own safety to try and save their son’s life.
Number 3 Amanda Taylor
Days after she’d been missing, Amanda Taylor’s lifeless body was found on a bank of the Arkansas
River. Taylor hadn’t been seen since her dinghy overturned while she was whitewater rafting on
the river. The woman and six others were left to fend for themselves in the turbulent waters
of the Arkansas. Five made it to shore and another man was subsequently rescued as he was still
clinging to the raft. Since they’d gone out at night, the lack of visibility further complicated
the fight against the powerful currents. Survivors remembered the dread they experienced as they were
being pulled underwater, as if inside a washing machine, in pitch-black darkness. Fortunately,
they were all wearing life vests. Taylor was the only one still unaccounted for as the rafters
regrouped. Her family came in from Wyoming to help with the search efforts. After four days, it was
Taylor’s brother that found her body. A coroner’s report stated drowning as the cause of death.
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Number 2 Michael Arena While chaperoning his son’s Boy Scout trip,
52-year-old Michael Arena lost his life on Dead River, in Maine. Arena was one of two chaperones
overseeing the group of teenagers. They were on a commercial rafting trip when they ended up in the
water. The others managed to scramble their way to safety but Arena was overpowered by the currents.
An ambulance crew pulled him from the water and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Number 1 James Abromitis James Abromitis died in June of 2016,
after he was thrown from a raft during a white water trip down Roaring Fork River, in Aspen,
Colorado. The Maryland man and his wife had chosen Aspen Whitewater as the operator for their rafting
experience. The trip was marked by trouble from its first minutes. Abromitis was ejected
from the raft but recovered after he was pulled inside. The second time the man was thrown off
he couldn’t be resuscitated and died on the spot. Abromitis’ widow subsequently sued the operator
for misleading them about a leg of the river called Slaughterhouse. They’d allegedly downplayed
the risks involved and marketed it as suitable for beginners. Additionally, heavy spring runoff
had swollen Aspen’s rivers and Slaughterhouse ran at over 2,000 cubic feet per second. This made it
even more dangerous than under normal conditions. The lawsuit ended in an undisclosed settlement.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather go rafting on a class V rapid or try
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