Boy loses arm in Oregon surfing accident

PACIFIC CITY, Ore. --An Oregon boy lost his left arm in a surfing accident off the coast of Cape Kiwanda, the authorities said.

Cole Ortega, 14, of Bend collided with a dory boat that was coming into shore Sunday morning in 8- to 10-foot swells, said Sheriff Todd Anderson of Tillamook County. The collision occurred about 100 yards off the beach at a time when there were numerous surfers and boats in the water.

Fellow surfers helped Ortega to shore, where he was aided by an Oregon State Police trooper. An emergency room doctor who happened to be walking on the beach then stabilized the boy until he could be transferred to Tillamook County General Hospital, Anderson said. A LifeFlight helicopter then took him to a Portland trauma center.

Ortega had been surfing with his 16-year-old sister and her boyfriend, and other relatives were also at the scene.

The crowded conditions and high surf prompted the authorities to ask all surfers to get out of the water so the dories could safely return to shore. Investigators were looking into the possibility that other surfers had been struck by boats, said Sgt. Todd Hoodenpyl of the Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division.

Hoodenpyl identified the operator of the boat that collided with Ortega as Darrel Martin, 55, of Beaver.

A surfer recovered the severed limb.