TWO students thrown into the River Ouse when a small boat capsized today told of their nightmare ordeal after being trapped beneath the sinking vessel - and warned others to stay well clear of the dangerous waters.

"I thought I was going to die, it was horrible," said York College student Jade Lockwood, one of 11 people to be thrown into the river in the early hours of yesterday after the boat they were on became overloaded and capsized.

Jade said she was out with her friend, Sophie Jones, also at York College, when the pair were offered a lift back to Sophie's Bootham home on a boat.

The vessel was owned by someone who knew a friend of the two girls, who had enjoyed a night out in the city.

But Jade said more and more people, who they did not know, began to board the boat and it rapidly began to sink while in the middle of the fast-flowing river.

"There were just people coming from nowhere," she said. "I could see that the boat was going lower and lower. Within seconds, water came over the side of the boat and it just capsized," said the teenager, who was dressed in jeans and a top after being out at a bar.

"We were trapped underneath. It seemed as though we were under there for absolutely ages. I didn't think I would get out.

"I was absolutely frozen. It was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had. The water was disgusting. I swallowed quite a bit of it."

Friend Sophie said: "It was scary. We couldn't feel the current, but we knew we were being dragged."

Jade said she eventually managed to kick her way free and was hauled on to a canal boat by a passing Good Samaritan.

When they reached dry land, they were offered survival blankets by ambulance and police crews.

But Jade's handbag, mobile phone and shoes were lost in the freezing cold water.

Today she warned others to approach the river with extreme caution.

"It has been such a lesson," she said. "We're lucky to be alive. I would advise other people not to go into the Ouse."

Police divers were still searching the river later yesterday to check that no one from the boat had been left in the water. They confirmed there had been no casualties, and no one was taken to hospital.

The owner of the boat has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk in charge of a vessel. He has been bailed to appear at Fulford Road police station in six days.

Police said the boat had now been salvaged by Northumbrian Police underwater search squad, which covers the area after North Yorkshire Police disbanded its frogmen unit to save money. The boat was re-moored at Queen's Staith.

Updated: 10:16 Friday, July 29, 2005