THE FORKS, Maine — A man from Connecticut died Saturday after being thrown from a raft while paddling down the Dead River in the area of The Forks.
The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. while the man was on a raft operated by Magic Falls Rafting Company, according to a release Thursday from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti.
Latti said there were a total of seven people on the raft, all of whom were family or friends. The raft hit a rapid called the Big Poplar Rapid, causing Brian M. Breen, 57, and one other passenger to be ejected from the raft.
As the guide was trying to get Breen and the other passenger back in the raft, they hit another major rapid, causing the raft to flip and send everyone into the water, Thursday's release stated.
Everyone in the raft was rescued by other nearby rafts, but Breen was unresponsive. Rescuers tried to administer CPR to Breen while others paddled to meet emergency personnel on Route 201, but Breen did not make it, officials said.
Breen was from East Hartford, Connecticut, according to officials. His body was taken to the Giberson Funeral Home in Bingham.
Latti said Thursday that he was still awaiting word from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Breen's official cause of death.