Expert canoeist Wheeler found dead in flooded River Dart

According to sources, the canoeist Chris Wheeler, who unfortunately died after being trapped under his canoe while crossing a flooded stream, was a qualified expert who had enjoyed the activity for 25 years.

Wheeler was dragged from the River Dart close to Newton Abbot on Saturday after being caught beneath a tree. The policemen from Cornwall and Devon reported that two of Wheeler’s colleagues fought hard the water to free him but failed to do so. The canoeist was pronounced dead at the scene.

A policeman informed that River Dart is famous for people who like to experience white water.

Wheeler’s biography at the website of Canoe and Kayak UK magazine states that he was a canoeing instructor. He had been writing about canoeing for a decade and edited most of the South East section of the travel book, ‘English White Water’.

The canoeist’s love for rivers had taken him to Costa Rica, Norway, Vietnam and the US. The 46-year-old instructor from Reading was nicknamed ‘Magic Knees’ after dislocating his joints in the 1980s.

It is believed that there were eight experienced canoeists during the incident. Several canoe enthusiasts from South East who survived the mishap however suffered from hypothermia.

In other related story, a search and rescue operation had been undertaken to find a woman which was earlier carried away by the river. Witnesses told the police that a woman was swept into the River Usk near Watergate Bridge in Brecon on Saturday. The police, mountain rescue and fire service had already conducted searches on the riverbanks.