Several people were rescued Saturday afternoon after being stranded on an island within the Lehigh River in East Penn Township.

Tucker Haberman, captain, Lehighton Fire Department, said they were dispatched at around 2:30 p.m. about a mile down the river from the East Penn Boat Launch.

“We were dispatched for three people on a private rafting trip stuck on an island unable to cross,” Haberman said. “One person lost their tube and they were stranded on an island.”

Haberman said the department launched its boat and were able to locate the individuals, at which time they put a rope system across the river and pretty much walked them over to the D & L side of the river where they were seen by EMS.

He said one person had an ankle injury after she got her foot trapped in between rocks.

Haberman said they were on scene for about an hour-and-a-half.

He said Bowmanstown Fire Department, East Penn Township Fire Department, Palmerton Ambulance and Lehighton Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Haberman stressed that all three individuals that were stuck on the island had their life vests on.

“The importance of life vests; they save lives,” he said. “If they didn’t have those life vests on, who knows what the outcome could have been.”

Since 2009, Haberman said the Lehighton Fire Department has rescued 100 people from the water, all of whom were wearing their life vests.