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6 people rescued from Chattahoochee River, Atlanta fire officials say

The group was rescued as metro Atlanta started to see summertime storms.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Fire Rescue Department crews worked to help a group of people stuck along the Chattahoochee River Saturday afternoon.

Six people were involved in the river rescue, AFRD officials said. Crews were called to a home along Cochise Drive in northwest Atlanta around 4 p.m. to help the group. The neighborhood is by The Lovett School off Paces Ferry Road.

"A staff member of a nearby school reported 5 to 6 people in the river in distress," officials wrote in a news release. "Using a mobile device, the staff member directed firefighters to the location of the victims in the Chattahoochee River."

Around the corner of a home, firefighters said they found six people in the water with one female holding onto a limb with one hand and holding a tube connected to the five other people with her other hand.

Unsure of how long she could hold on to the branch, firefighters said they got down the bank using a rope and used a pike pole for her to grip. Crews then dropped a ladder into the water for the group to get out of the water and climb the bank.

All six people were safely removed from the water, authorities said. No one was hurt.

Metro Atlanta had a 60 percent chance for evening storms, according to 11Alive StormTrackers. The pop-up showers were moving through Atlanta's midtown area as of 4:20 p.m., with the forecast track showing much of north Georgia projected to see rain.

Rescue crews did not say if the weather was a factor in their operations.

This is a developing story. Check back often for new information. 

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