2 women clinging to tree in Fox River rescued

NORTH AURORA, Ill. (WLS) -- Firefighters in west suburban North Aurora rescued two women who were riding on a raft that punctured and deflated Wednesday.

The 19-year-old women were on a raft in the Fox River near Lippold Park when their tube got stuck on a tree, punctured and started deflating. They were clinging to the tree and screaming for help when pedestrians saw them and called 9-1-1.

"The water was really swift, it was really pushing them and it was difficult for them to hang on," said Chief Ryan Lambert of the North Aurora Fire Department.

"All of a sudden they started screaming for their lives because one of the girls had fallen off of her raft and that's when we started to run," said Christine Marie, the witness who called 9-1-1.

Fire officials rescued the women by boat and said both women were uninjured in the incident.

The river is supposed to be closed to boaters because floodwaters have a much stronger current than normal, and there is a lot of debris from the storms.

The women went home with their parents after being examined.