16-year-old drowns in river at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

CHEROKEE, NORTH CAROLINA — A 16-year-old boy drowned after losing his footing in a river at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, WVLT-8 TV and WBIR-10 TV report.

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At approximately 5 p.m. EDT on June 24, park rangers and Cherokee Search and Rescue responded to the Oconaluftee River, behind the Mountain Farm Museum, on reports that a teenager fell into the river and didn’t resurface.

Rescue teams recovered his body around 6:30 p.m., both stations report.

“Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful,” a National Park Service (NPS) spokesperson told WBIR-10.

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Great Smoky Mountain National Park spokesperson Emily Davis told WVLT-8 that visitors should avoid water activities in the park due to the dangers and hazards.

Both stations report that there are no lifeguards in the park and that help could be hours away.

NPS provided safety tips for those in and around water in the Great Smoky Mountains:

• Use extreme caution when walking along riverbanks
• Do not dive or jump into the water
• Stay on the trail if you don’t feel confident in the water or don’t know how to swim

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