ASPEN, Colo. -- Two hikers were nearly killed while trying to save a dog at the Independence Pass near Aspen, Colo., after the dog fell into a 400-foot tunnel.
Heidi Baumann, 50, and her niece's boyfriend, Sandy Krohn, 27, were rescued from about 200 feet down the tunnel Wednesday after they both fell into the waters of Salvation Ditch while trying to save Glover, a black Labrador, the Denver Post reported.
The dog was playing in the water when he began to struggle in the current.
Baumann tried to reach the dog but fell in and Krohn entered the water trying to help Baumann, the newspaper said.
"When I was sucked into it, I was afraid I was going to drown. I was scared to death," Baumann told the newspaper. "I have no idea whether I was on my back or my stomach. It was so cold. I'm really beat up, bruised and cut up."
A third hiking partner, Nancy Baumann called 911 and about 60 firefighters, mountain-rescue volunteers and police who were assembling in Aspen for a Fourth of July parade rushed to the scene.
After being retrieved from the tunnel by rescue workers in wetsuits, Baumann and Krohn were taken to a hospital, where they were both treated for hypothermia.
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