Two elderly women rescued from overheated hot tub in Kentucky

A group of elderly friends on a rural Kentucky getaway narrowly avoided a fatal outcome after two women became trapped in a hot tub that overheated them to the point of hyperthermia. The incident occurred at a remote cabin in Wolfe County, near the Red River Gorge, where rescue workers and cabin caretakers acted quickly to pull the women from the water, treat them with cold immersion and ice, and transport them to a hospital. Both women ultimately recovered enough to be discharged the following day.

Emergency responders were alerted shortly after 8:40 p.m. local time when a 911 call reported two women in their 80s unable to exit the hot tub because of preexisting health issues. Cabin staff were able to remove the women from the tub before paramedics arrived. One woman was unresponsive at the scene, while the other was partially responsive. An emergency medical technician, who also serves on the rescue team, moved the more critically affected woman to a nearby shower and applied cold water and ice to reduce her core temperature. The other woman received cold compresses and was cooled with a hose outside, before both were taken to a hospital for further treatment.