Four teens pulled from the Arkansas River in Tulsa

A teenaged boy is in critical condition after he and 3 of his friends are caught in the swirling currents of the Arkansas River in Tulsa. <br/><br/>It happened a little before 1 PM Wednesday near the

Wednesday, August 3rd 2005, 12:59 pm

By: News On 6

A teenaged boy is in critical condition after he and 3 of his friends are caught in the swirling currents of the Arkansas River in Tulsa.

It happened a little before 1 PM Wednesday near the Pedestrian Bridge and the low water dam. News on 6 reporter Steve Berg says the boys were found just downstream of the low water dam, a very dangerous place. And one was swept away by rising water and the undertow.

Why they were in the water is unclear, but apparently, they were caught when the water level rose suddenly. Three of them found a relatively shallow spot where they could stand. One was not as lucky.

Tulsa Fire Captain Hubert Rouse: "once we got down here, we were told there were four kids, three were basically accounted for, one was missing caught in the undertow." Rouse says one of the three boys actually left the safe spot to help his friend who was caught against the dam. They say he did what he could to hold the boy above water until the firefighters arrived to pull him to the riverbank. "We pulled the person out, we've worked them. We're told they had a pulse when they left here, so we'll just have to wait and see what takes place once they get to the hospital."

The boy was unconscious as he was taken away by ambulance. Firefighters say he had been underwater for a long time. "We're not sure, weâ€™re guessing five minutes or so, is what we've been told they disappeared underneath the water."

At last report, the boy, who we're told is 15-years-old, is in critical condition. Two of the other boys were taken the hospital, but are relatively okay and another boy was not hurt.