WASHINGTON (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Columbia University student drowned while kayaking on Sunday after getting caught in the Potomac River near the Maryland/Washington, D.C. border, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services.
Ella Mills, a junior, was kayaking with a group of students from the university’s whitewater kayak club when the kayak flipped over, and she fell out, according to the MCFRS.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services respond to kayak incident on Sept. 17. Photo credit Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
The MCFRS responded to the Potomac River in the Little Falls kayakers in distress around 3:15 p.m.
A piece of Mills' gear was caught between rocks and she was unable to move as she was stuck face-down, local whitewater kayaker Tim Atwell told NPR.
Bystanders tried to help her before MCFRS arrived but she did not survive.
Mills was a Dublin, Ireland, native and was in Columbia University's dual BA program with Trinity College Dublin, according to bwog.com.