Erie, Pa (WJET/WFXP) — The United States Coast Guard has released the footage of the water rescue made Friday morning, where four people had to be pulled from the water, one of whom got trapped under the capsized boat.
The rescue happened about eight miles off the coast of Lake Erie, where a group of friends had to be rescued after their boat capsized during a fishing trip, with the first calls going out around 9:30 am.
A Coast Guard helicopter and dive team from Detroit flew in around 11:15 that morning and quickly were able to get a diver in the water who was able to quickly reach the stuck passenger and get them to the first responders who had rescued the other three.
You can watch the full deployment in the video below.
“None of us had life jackets on. There’s life jackets in the boat and they were trapped under the boat and we’re outside of the boat,” Jerry Warner, one of the people rescued, told us Friday.
All four of the rescued fishermen were uninjured and added how thankful they were to be alive and for the rescue crews who came out to save them
The Coast Guard said this is the first life saved for two members of the crew, with the whole crew earning praise for their swift work from their helicopter aircraft commander.
“I commend our crews for having swiftly executed the procedures we train daily. The Coast Guard uses a variety of stations to use their expertise to bring family and friends back together, and it was a pleasure to work with the crews of Station Erie,” said Cmdr. Robert O’Donnell, helicopter aircraft commander.
The Coast Guard was assisted on the scene by crews from Erie, Lake City, Fuller Hose and Millcreek, along with two good Samaritans in Captain Tony with Erie Dog House Charters and Captain Matt with Reel Hawg Charters.
