re: Updated- One dead at Tiki tubing, confirmed drowning victim

quote:

---

do remember a deep arse hole

---

Hard to forget, I’d imagine.

spent all day today kayaking 13 miles on the Okatoma and the water was pretty high most of the time, and the current was moving quick. wasn't so bad but there were soooo many people that there were a few congestion points were people were getting knocked around and dragged under the water.

quote:

---

I couldn't believe how naive I was to ever go in that dirty-arse water.

---

If you really want to tubing go to the Weeki Wacee in Florida a perfect 72 year round. Had a blast at Christmas time.

I love Florida

Besides being drunk off your arse and/or not knowing how to swim. How does one drown tubing on the Amite? Is it the currents, under water debris, catfish..?

If you are from that area we have all heard stories, and maybe even know someone who drowned there. But I grew up swimming and fishing on that river and I just didn’t see how people would die. Maybe I’m just too cautious but I did survive my Amite River days.

quote:

---

Besides being drunk off your arse and/or not knowing how to swim. How does one drown tubing on the Amite? Is it the currents, under water debris, catfish..? If you are from that area we have all heard stories, and maybe even know someone who drowned there. But I grew up swimming and fishing on that river and I just didn’t see how people would die. Maybe I’m just too cautious but I did survive my Amite River days.

---

I am an extremely strong swimmer with years of swimming in the Gulf and knowing how to handle rip currents.

The Amite is a different beast. It’s easy to drown in bc it’s very deceptive. It can look so calm on the surface and your feet firmly planted in the bottom waist deep. Take one step and your instantly underwater. Not to mention the undertow that will suck you under and then push you with a current that pins you under. Many panic but even if you don’t panic and manage to surface, there’s a great chance that you’ll get snagged by debris and then your screwed.

I’d like to know why that is. Sandy bottom vs rock bottom?

I think this information to the public to make a good decision is warranted. But you can’t shut it down.

People still die every year white water rafting/kayaking, but never talks of shutting that cash cow down.

Found this:

The three men boarded the bus, rode upstream, retrieved their tubes, [*4] and entered the river. According to Akhtar, Raja and Mehmood were playing around and getting caught in trees in the water. Akhtar tried to rush the other two men along so that they would not get separated from the group. The water was shallow, and Raja and Mehmood were leaving their tubes and [Pg 4] swimming freely in the river. The three men continued in this fashion for 15 to 20 minutes.

On the river trip, Raja was “getting excited.” He would leave his tube, swim downstream with the current, then wait for his tube to float to him. Raja did this four or five times. The men stopped to take a photograph, after which Raja said he would swim just one more length. Suddenly, while swimming ahead of his tube, Raja disappeared under the water. Then, Mehmood began having trouble in the water. Akhtar floated toward his friends and was able to help Mehmood get hold of the tube and out of the water. Raja, however, panicked and was unable to grasp the tube. According to Akhtar, the water was “too far deep” and moving much faster underneath the surface. Akhtar did not leave his tube in an attempt to pull Raja from the water because, according to Akhtar, the water was too deep and the current would [*5] have pulled him under too. Akhtar explained: “If you go to somebody who’s drowning, he’ll take you with him even if you are [a] good swimmer….”

The record establishes that Raja drowned in an area of the river described as a drop or a deep pocket. This court has held that the “existence of a hole in a natural lake, that renders the depth of the lake deeper than other portions, would not, ipso facto, constitute a defective [Pg 11] condition.”4

quote:

---

I’m just saying all these people saying how dangerous the amite river is etc etc and stay out of it blah blah blah… I am born and raised around the amite my entire life, have been tubing down there many many of times… never once even got close to drowning… why number 1 I’m not stupid if the water is very high that tells me currents will be stronger… number 2 if you are not a good swimmer you need to have a life jacket on, or just not go… and number 3 if you plan is to get blitzed drunk while tubing it don’t matter if it’s on the amite or in a bath tub you chances of drowning increases

---

I get what you’re saying but the facts are many strong swimmers are sober when they drown there.

I am not advocating closing it down but non-locals should be made aware of how deadly that stretch is. Once you get sucked into one of those deep holes and the current pins you underwater... you’re screwed.