‘It’s unbelievable’: 7 rescued after being sucked into Genoa Lock and Dam

Seven people were rescued after being pulled into a dam on the Upper Mississippi River when their boat became disabled.

All seven, including a minor, escaped without injuries Monday afternoon in the incident at the Genoa Lock and Dam on the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to a joint statement from sheriff’s offices in Vernon County and Houston County, Minnesota.

The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office was called to the dam after receiving a report that several people were sucked through the roller gates when their boat lost power, law enforcement said.

The boat’s engine stalled 1 to 2 miles upriver and failed to restart as the boat approached the dam, police stated. When the boat got inside a 600-foot safety area upstream of the dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the structure sealed the gates in the affected area.

All seven people got off the boat and went underwater beneath the floodgate, resurfacing below the dam, law enforcement said. Army Corps staff threw life preserver rings to the passengers who were able to climb to safety on top of the dam.

“By the grace of God, no injuries were reported,” Houston County Sheriff Brian Swedberg and Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson said in the joint statement. “All were evaluated at the scene. None were transported to the hospital.”

Genoa-Harmony Fire Chief Mike Hanson said it’s “unbelievable” that all seven people survived, calling it “rare.”

When a situation like that happens, the fire chief said, there’s typically at least one casualty.

“It’s just a fluke that all seven of them made it,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Hanson said the workers at the dam were crucial in the rescue because their adjustment of the gate helped to slow down the water flow.

He also said it’s important for boaters to avoid the dam, especially the upper side of the structure.

The sheriff’s offices say the incident remains under investigation.

Editor’s note: this story was updated with information from law enforcement noting that no one was injured in the incident.