Four Mercer University students were rescued from a gator-infested swamp late Monday night, after several hours lost on a middle Georgia river.

The students, two women and two men, dressed only in bathing suits, lost their way while floating on inflatable rafts down the Ocmulgee River near Macon.

The students told rescuers that they at times waded chest-deep in the swamp, trying to find a way out, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The swamp is home to alligators and wild hogs. “They don’t know how blessed they were,” Sgt. Mitch Scott, of the Macon-Bibb Fire Dept., told The Telegraph. “There are gators down there that would eat you whole.”

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2013/09/03/2643075/college-students-rescued-from.html#storylink=cpy

They drifted four or five miles down the river before calling for help around 9 p.m. Monday. Macon-Bibb firefighters pulled the students from the water more than two hours later.

Rescuers tracked a GPS signal from the group’s one working phone, the Telegraph reported.

Three of the students are from Georgia, and one is from Florida.

About the Author

Keep Reading

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will expand to 48 teams, marking the first expansion of the field since 1998. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Featured

Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

Credit: Jenni Girtman