Two men and a woman were rescued from the Columbia River early Thursday morning after their boat capsized when a fishing net got caught in the boat's motor, authorities said.

The tribal fishermen apparently clung to their capsized boat for about six hours in the river near Crow Butte and were suffering from hypothermia, said Benton County sheriff's Lt. Joe Lusignan.

Sky Hood Yallup, 33, and Lester Brent Spencer, 44, both of Pendleton, and Julie Tewee, 43, of Warm Springs, were taken to Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston.

It's the second time in about two weeks that a tribal fishing boat capsized in the river.

On Sept. 14, five members of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation were fishing the Columbia about 10 miles west of Boardman when a large wave hit their 16-foot boat and flipped it.

All five were thrown into the river, but only three made it to shore. The bodies of the other two fishermen were recovered three days later.

In the latest accident, Benton County deputies got called about 9 p.m. Wednesday when the boaters failed to return to shore.

They were told they left in a 14-foot fiberglass boat at about 6 p.m., planning to set out some fishing nets, Lusignan said.

The boaters did not have navigation lights or cell phones.

Columbia Patrol, the sheriff's marine unit, searched the Columbia River near Crow Butte and found the boaters about 1 a.m., Lusignan said.

The boaters said the fishing nets became tangled in the motor, which pulled the stern of the boat under water and caused the boat to capsize, he said.

None of the boaters were wearing life jackets, Lusignan said.

The capsized boat could not be retrieved because it was pulled down with fishing nets and anchors, he said.