A woman was rescued from the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon on Thursday evening. The call came in at 6:16 p.m. of someone in distress in the river near the Canoe Club. The person was hanging onto a life jacket and being carried down river. The Water Rescue Boat launched from the Saskatoon Fire Department launch while firefighters with one of the trucks went to the Canoe Club to get eyes on the woman.

An off-duty firefighter enjoying an evening of paddle boarding had begun to move the lady towards shore with his paddle board. Water Rescue 1 completed the rescue and the woman was out of the water, in the care of the Saskatoon Police Service within 10 minutes of getting the call.

The Saskatoon Fire Department says river water levels may be low but the river can still be unpredictable and has a current capable of carrying a person down river. If boating, canoeing, kayaking or paddle boarding on the river they say always use a personal flotation device and swimming in the river within city limits is prohibited.