Police officers in Massachusetts jumped into action to help a fisherman stuck in freezing waters on Wednesday.
Just after 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers were called to the Fish Island area for a male fisherman who had fallen between two fishing boats in freezing waters, according to the City of New Bedford Police Department.
Upon arrival, Officer Kenneth Almeida immediately made contact with the victim, grabbing his hand as he was submerged in water.
Due to the frigid and numbing winter temperatures, the victim was unable to pull himself out of the water.
Body camera footage from Officer Almeida shows him remaining in contact with the man as other officers quickly arrived to assist with the rescue.
Officers try their best to instruct the visibly nervous victim on how to secure himself around a rescue buoy so that he can be lifted out of the predicament.
“You fortunately have some strong guys here,” Officer Almeida reassured the victim. “You probably got the strongest guys you could have here.”
Officer Almeida mentioned how the fisherman could be starting to experience hypothermia due to being submerged for an extended period of time.
Through a collective effort with four other officers, they were able to pull the man from the water safely.
He was later transported to St. Luke’s Hospital for further treatment with no serious injuries noted, and is expected to be OK.
