Seven people were rescued from the Campbell River Tuesday night after their rafts got caught under a bridge.

The group ran into trouble when their rafts, which were tied together, hit the bridge abutment.

Several people made it to shore on their own but Campbell River Search and Rescue and firefighters jumped into action to save two adults and several children.

Some of the raft occupants were not wearing lifejackets, according to first responders, so rescuers lowered PFD's from the bridge, then used ropes to pull people to shore.

Officials say the biggest takeaway from the incident is for anyone floating down the river not to tie their rafts together.

"If there's any obstruction like this bridge piling, it just becomes a way of entrapping them," said Tim Strange of Campbell River Search and Rescue. "Once you're stuck, there's nothing you can do. The current will pin you to that piling and you're not going anywhere."

Everyone was brought to shore safely and other than being a little cold, no one was seriously hurt.