20-year-old drowns in river

PEPPERELL, Mass. – A 20-year-old Pepperell man was killed in a canoe accident on the Nissitissit River on Sunday afternoon, according to police.

The victim’s canoe tipped and the man got trapped on underwater debris, police Sgt. Armando Herrera said. The man’s identity was not being released as of Sunday evening. The man was with several of friends who were not injured; however, one of them was transported to the hospital for evaluation, said Herrera.

The accident happened around 4:30 p.m., and it took a couple of hours for emergency crews from Pepperell, Lowell and Fitchburg, who were staged in the area of Mill and Groton streets, to remove the victim from the water, Herrera said.