CORNISH, N.H. (AP) – A week after an injured woman drowned when a rescue boat capsized, the crew that tried to help her is dealing with grief and stress, officials said.

Virginia Yates, 64, of Rockingham, Vt., died Aug. 22 after a Cornish Rescue Squad boat sank to the bottom of the Connecticut River.

Yates slipped and fell that afternoon while stepping onto a private dock in Springfield, Vt., injuring her ankle and hitting her head.

After a friend went to a public dock for help and a woman called 911, the Cornish Rescue Squad went to retrieve her because Springfield and Charlestown, N.H. – the nearest towns – do not have boats.

Emergency responders from Springfield and Cornish placed Yates on a backboard and strapped the board to a stretcher attached to the airboat, officials said.

But on the way to Hoyt’s Landing, the boat suddenly sank, taking Yates under. Rescuers were unable to recover her body for about an hour, according to emergency dispatch records. None of the emergency responders was injured.

The Cornish Rescue Squad members, who are all volunteers, were devastated by Yates’ death and their hearts go out to her family and friends, said Mark Attorri, a lawyer who is advising the rescue squad members as they cooperate with an investigation by the New Hampshire Marine patrol and the Sullivan County attorney’s office.

Members of the Springfield Fire Department talked about the failed rescue last week with counselors from Green Mountain Critical Incident Stress Management, said fire Chief Ross Thompson.

“This incident or any incident, any time there is an event that doesn’t have the outcome we expect or like, it creates a potential need for debriefing and taking care of our own people’s health,” he said.

Frank Silfies, of the counseling organization, said rescue operations that end in a civilian’s injury or death are among the most psychologically damaging for rescuers.

“Most rescuers, if they are in a position where they can’t do the rescue, where there is nothing for them to do, that is tough,” Silfies said. “Rescuers are action-oriented people, and they get into the business to save people.”