Man dies in canoeing tragedy on holiday with family

The 49-year-old canoeist, who was on holiday with his family at the time of the tragedy, was pulled from the River Fowey at Golitha Falls on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor at around 3.29pm yesterday.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the victim was winched up by a search and rescue helicopter and flown to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

Attempts were made to resuscitate him but ultimately failed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly afterwards.

A police spokesman said they were called to the scene at Draynes, near Liskeard, by reports “a canoeist had fallen out of his canoe and was reportedly clinging to a rock”.

“A search and rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor (in North Devon) winched the male from the river and he was taken to Derriford Hospital,” he said.

“However attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful and he was later pronounced deceased.”

He added: “The canoeist was a 49-year-old man on holiday with his family.”

Golitha Falls is a nature reserve on the edge of the moor.

According to the website of Government agency Natural England it is a “an area of woodland occupying a steep-sided valley gorge, with the River Fowey flowing through it in a series of spectacular cascades”.

Phil Harris, who runs the Badgers’ Sett Holiday Cottages around half a mile from the Falls, said the area had experienced heavy rainfall over the last few days and that the water flow had been very fast.

The area was popular with dog walkers, he said, but he was not aware of it being commonly used by canoeists.

“The water has certainly been going very fast and we have had a lot of rain,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have thought it was high enough to canoe but over the last few days it has been very high and very fast flowing.”

A spokesman for the police force last night told journlaists that he and his officers believed the man was canoeing alone and not as part of a wider group.