TOOMBS COUNTY, Ga. (DDN) – According to the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, one person died and another was hospitalized in a fishing accident Thursday after their boat overturned in cold waters.

Deputies arrived at a pond off Highway 178 early Thursday night and discovered Eryc Bobbitt, 33, of Lyons, clinging to a tiny aluminum boat.

Bobbitt told responders that Cedric Hilton, 35, of Vidalia, was with him when the boat flipped.

Rescue teams from many organizations worked together to save Bobbitt, who was suffering from severe hypothermia and took him to Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia. He’s expected to recover.

Hilton’s body was discovered shortly afterward and pronounced dead.

Preliminary results showed that the water temperature was in the low 30s. Experts warn that the early development of hypothermia limits survival time to 15-30 minutes.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is now investigating the event. Sheriff Jordan Kight expressed his sympathy to the families and praised the first responders’ efforts.

Reference: Fishing incident in Toombs County leaves one dead, another hospitalized