Auburn emergency personnel respond Thursday to Bonney Park in Auburn where a woman was rescued from the Androscoggin River. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

AUBURN — A young woman was plucked from the Androscoggin River on Thursday afternoon after going into the water near Bonney Park.

Witnesses said the woman had been on the foot bridge with a relative before she waded into the river shortly after 4 p.m.

Police and rescue crews responded immediately and got boats into the water. The woman was found floating in the river nearby, roughly 15 feet off shore, witnesses said.

One witness reported that the woman in the river tried to swim away from her rescuers and actively avoided taking a rope that was thrown to her.

Auburn fire and rescue crews were able to reach the woman, however, and she was taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. The extent of her injuries were not known, but witnesses said she appeared conscious and alert.

The woman’s name was not available.

The rescue occurred in the same area where a 5-year-old drowned in the river in the spring of 2018. The boy’s 9-year-old brother was rescued when the pair went into the water near Bonney Park.

As a result of that drowning, extra fencing has been put up in the area to prevent falls into the river.