TOWNSHIP 3 RANGE 11 — A 56-year-old Massachusetts man who was whitewater rafting Saturday, died of an apparent heart attack not long after being retrieved from the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

Charles Thompson, 56, of Sandwich, Mass., was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon at Millinocket Regional Hospital, said Warden Sgt. Greg Sanborn.

Thompson and five other people in the group along with a rafting guide from Unicorn Expeditions started their raft trip near McKay Station.

“A short distance down the river they came into an area known by rafters as the exterminator, a section of the river where water flows very rapidly over boulders creating standing waves and white water,” said the warden.

Sanborn said the raft got hung up in the back flow and was surfing the waves when it got pushed back into the falling water and the raft flipped over, dumping all seven people out. He said all rafting companies have safety teams that are prepared to assist people and pull them to shore. “This is not a rare occurrence,” said the warden.

The warden sergeant said a Unicorn guide threw Thompson a rope and pulled him to shore while other guides assisted other members of the rafting party in getting to shore. The warden said other members of the party were related or close friends of Thompson.

“Everybody was fine. Mr. Thompson indicated he wanted to continue on with the trip,” said Sanborn. The warden said safety team members were patching up people, who received some minor injuries, when Thompson passed out and keeled over onto the ground. Rafting safety team crews quickly began administering CPR and continued for 30 minutes until a Millinocket ambulance reached the scene.

“Their training kicked in,” said Sanborn of the quick action of the rafting companies safety teams. “Once the subjects were in the water, they got them out as quickly as possible and once Thompson passed out, they performed CPR the way they are trained.” He said there appeared to be no problems with the raft owned by Unicorn Expeditions.

Sanborn said the cause of death has yet to be determined by the state Medical Examiner’s Office. But some bystanders at the scene said it appeared Thompson suffered from a heart attack.

The warden said the unfortunate incident was not being treated as a boating fatality. “The boating trip was over the minute he was brought back to shore and there was no apparent injuries to him,” said Sanborn.