LAKE ONTARIO, New York (WABC) — Cameras were rolling as first responders braved icy, frigid waters to save a fisherman who fell into a bay in upstate New York.
It happened on Tuesday afternoon in Sodus Bay near Lake Ontario.
Ken Dobbin said he heard two of his neighbors shouting that someone had fallen in. He looked out and saw a man struggling to stay afloat in the water.
Seconds later, Dobbin said the man stopped kicking. He called 911 and a Wayne County Sherriff’s Office fire and rescue boat arrived.
“There was a man that had crawled out before that who tried to pull him out without the aid of any equipment,” Dobbin said. “He couldn’t get him out, but I think they were able to somehow attach something to him and then pull him out from the boat.”
Authorities said the 57-year-old man was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Fire officials said this was their third rescue in as many days.
State officials are warning people to stay off the ice if it is less than two inches thick.
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