Two men in their 20s were rescued from the Green River the afternoon of June 22.

That is in addition to the two women rescued the day before. All four ended up in life-threatening situations in the fast, cold river.

None of the four were wearing personal flotation devices (life jackets), according to information provided by the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident began about 4 p.m. near Flaming Geyser State Park. A man was floating on an inflatable “pool toy” when it was punctured by a tree branch. The raft deflated and the man ended up just barely able to keep his head above water while clinging to a log. The man’s friend tried to rescue him but his pool raft also deflated and he ended up clinging to the same log. The third friend wisely beached his raft. All three men began yelling for help and 911 was called. Sheriff’s Office Marine deputies and fire personnel from Fire District 44 responded, formed a rescue team and were able to safely bring both men to shore.

On June 21, two woman, ages 19 and 20, were knocked off their inner tubes and swept under a log in the river. They tried to avoid the log but could not because of the fast-moving water.

One of the women told rescuers she “thought she was going to die” as she was trapped by the tree roots under water. The other said she was trapped and was swallowing water and frantically trying to grab the tree or branches until she finally popped out on the other side to the tree.

The two found one of their inner tubes, held on and eventually made it to shore.