WASHINGTON — Multiple water rescues were required this weekend in the greater D.C. area due to swimmers being stuck on the Potomac River. In all, 16 people had to be rescued between Saturday and Sunday.
Twelve people were rescued Saturday on the Potomac near Georgetown, while four people were rescued Sunday off the part of the river that runs through Montgomery County, Md.
One of the swimmers Sunday was evacuated from the area and taken to a hospital for injuries, according to a Montgomery County official.
Localities across the region -- from Virginia to Maryland, and even the National Park Service -- have warned residents in the DMV about being on waterways, especially the Potomac River.
It is illegal to wade and swim in the water of the Potomac River. Drowning deaths and rescues have been reported on waterways in and around the District.
A man's body was pulled from the Potomac River outside Fletcher's Cove Boathouse in Georgetown earlier this June. His death is now under investigation by D.C. police. Two reported drownings have occurred in that general vicinity in the last month.
Both Montgomery County and National Park Service officials have also warned swimmers for weeks that they need to be careful around waterways on the Patuxent River, which runs through southern Maryland.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging parents and guardians to be aware of drowning amid the coronavirus pandemic. This, as many communities across the county look to access waterways and swimming pools during the summer.
AAP says that parents are multitasking more these days due to the pandemic, and that can lead to distractions and can lead to an increase of preventable childhood injuries to increase.