LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — Two fishermen were seriously injured after their boat capsized below Fort Loudoun Dam early Monday morning, according to TWRA spokesman Matt Cameron.
One man was taken to Fort Loudoun Medical Center in serious condition and the other was airlifted to UT Medical Center in critical condition, according to authorities.
The TWRA identified the two men as 72-year-old James Rich of Waynesville, N.C. and 57-year-old Ronald Greene of Clyde, N.C.
Officers said Greene is still in critical condition at UT Medical Center, and Rich was treated and released from the Ft. Loudoun Medical Center.
Greene's daughter, Sabrina, said he is still fighting for his life after dry drowning and fracturing his right arm, saying he is in the ICU on a ventilator.
She said her father is a Reverend at Panther Creek Baptist Church in Clyde, N.C.
Her family is asking for prayers and wanted to extend their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped save the two.
"The doctors said all we can do is pray and he will be in ICU, and they hope he will wake up. Nothing can be done until then," she said. "I know there were many who helped and I want to hug them all. We are praying and holding onto faith."
According to the TWRA, the two men were fishing below the dam when their boat overturned by water flowing from a spill gate. Greene's daughter said their boat stalled and they were yelling for help, but other boaters could not get close enough before their boat went under.
Both men were wearing life jackets when they were ejected into the rough water, but only one man came up still wearing it, according to local fishing guides Verge 'Bucky' Motz and Steve Duncan. The two witnessed the accident and rescued them from the water.
The TWRA said it believes the missing vest had been torn from the man's body by the turbulent water.
The TWRA said the incident is 'eerily similar' to one that happened on June 2, 2018 when a fishing boat carrying three N.C. men was pulled under by a spill gate below Ft. Loudoun Dam. One man drowned in that incident and two others were hospitalized.
Amazingly, Motz and Duncan were also the ones to witness and rescue the victims last summer.
"TWRA is grateful to Captain Motz and Captain Duncan for their heroic acts. Because of their bravery and boating skills, several lives have been saved in these treacherous waters," the TWRA said.
"Unfortunately, these types of incidents are becoming more common," Loudon County Wildlife Officer Anthony Chitwood said. "Since this tailwater is becoming a more popular destination for quality fishing, I'm seeing more risk taking now more than ever. I have seen as many as fifteen boats run up in the whitewater at one time."
This is still an ongoing investigation, we will give you updates as we get them.