Drifting away: Hundreds of Americans wash up illegally in Canada after river ‘floating’ party

It’s a party in the USA and then some....

A calm river celebration went off course the moment approximately 1,500 US citizens began drifting down the waterway, floating illegally into Canadian territory.

According to the Canadian Coast Guard, the large group of America’s had to be rescued from the water when conditions took a turn for the worse.

Strong rains and winds reportedly drove the hoards of “floaters” into the illegal territory.

The Americans were partaking in the annual Port Huron Float Down over the weekend when the incident occurred.

The event takes place on the St Clair River, which runs between the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Gale-force winds reportedly blew the hundreds of “floaters” - all drifting on an array of different devices and inner tubes - off course and into the Canadian waters.

Due to the difficult conditions, some rafts deflated.

This sparked a widespread rescue effort by the Canadian Coast Guard in addition to federal and provincial police.

Most of the “floaters” had to be recovered from the water and then towed to shore.

"They were terrified of entering another country without documentation. No one carries their passport or any ID, and a lot were drinking alcohol," Peter Garapick, superintendent of search and rescue for the coast guard, told CBC television.

Some of the floaters even attempted to swim back to the United States.

"We had to pull a lot of people out of the water and say 'no,'" Garapick told CBC.

According to Reuters, after the rescue efforts concluded the Americans were gathered at Sarnia, Ontario, and then bussed back to the United States by the city's public transit.

Sarnia police did not say whether anyone was charged in the incident Reuters reports.

According to online reports there were only minor injuries reported by the “floaters”.

The poplar event has no official organiser and according to its detractors poses, "significant and unusual hazards" due to the river's fast-moving current and participants' lack of life jackets.

A Facebook page for the annual river event dates back more than 30 years in the city of Port Huron, west of the border from Sarnia.

A post from Sunday night on the page thanked Canadian authorities for their assistance.

"You've shown us true kindness and what it means to be amazing neighbors!" the post read.

Displeased Sarnia city workers spent several hours Monday picking up beer cans, coolers, rafts — even picnic tables — that washed up on the Canadian shore, said spokeswoman Katarina Ovens.

News break – August 23