Quick response by area emergency personnel likely saved the life of a local boater injured in a Tuesday evening accident on the Alabama River.

Selma Fire Chief Mike Stokes said the department received a 911 call saying a boater was injured after falling from a boat on the river and becoming entangled in the craft’s spinning propeller.

“The caller was unable to give an exact location of the boat, but said they were somewhere between Six Mile Creek and the marina in Selma,” Stokes said. “The ability of the emergency responders to find someone with only a 15-mile search area is pretty amazing, and that — matched with the medical care he received once they arrived — will have a lot to do with how well the victim recovers from these injuries.”

The official report said the male victim, who Stokes could not identify because he may be underage, fell from the boat and suffered injuries to his left leg and arm after coming into contact with the boat’s propeller.

“From what I’ve heard, his injuries are very serious and could require him to undergo a number of surgeries in the future,” Stokes said.

The Selma Fire Department was joined by members of the Craig Field Volunteer Fire Department in locating the injured boater.

Members of the CFVD used a local boater’s watercraft to help locate the boat.

Once the injured boater was located, Stokes said the victim was transported to the Selma Marina and treated before a medical rescue helicopter flew him to Montgomery for further treatment.

“It appears all the agencies involved responded in a professional way, and the victim received attention as fast as possible,” Stokes said.

The victim’s condition was not known at press time.