New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team members from the Freshwater Bayou Lock in Kaplan, Louisiana, played a huge roll in rescuing an elderly gentleman who had fallen overboard from his vessel located near a public boat dock Feb. 1, 2024.
Local dispatchers received a 911 call from the man’s wife letting them know her husband had fallen overboard and that she was unable to help pull him back onto their boat. He was wearing a life preserver and holding on to a rope attached to the vessel but was still struggling to stay afloat.
First responders contacted the lock team to ask if they could assist in locating exactly where the elderly couple was since the USACE members were in such close proximity to the dock.
Grabbing what rescue equipment they had, members from the lock team took a USACE boat to the area and saw a flare that had been fired up into the air, indicating where the distressed couple was.
After more USACE team members arrived on scene, they were able to haul the man back into the boat and help bring his vessel back to shore, where local first responder teams had arrived at administer further aid. The man had been in the cold water for nearly 45 minutes throughout the entire ordeal.
The quick actions of everyone involved serves as a testament to the excellent professionalism of our USACE team members and of the interagency cooperation between federal and local organizations in supporting this rescue.
Date Taken: | 02.21.2024 |
Date Posted: | 02.21.2024 13:11 |
Story ID: | 464373 |
Location: | KAPLAN, LOUISIANA, US |
Hometown: | KAPLAN, LOUISIANA, US |
Web Views: | 224 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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