Good Samaritans Save 2 Men From Drowning In Cold Lake
RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. (WCCO) -- Even though they know how to swim, two men almost drowned on Sunday morning in a cold lake before two good Samaritans were able to save them.
Two cousins were fishing on Bald Eagle Lake in Ramsey County around 10 a.m. when a strong wind and a big wave caused them to lose control of the motor and fall into the water.
The boat started going in circles and the cold water temperature kept the men from being able to function after just a few minutes.
For two buddies from work, Kyle Bourasa and Brian Bahr, it was supposed to be a quiet morning on the lake until they spotted the out of control boat.
"All of a sudden I see out of the corner of my eye a boat doing circles, I mean fast circles," Bourasa said.
"You don't really have time to think about anything like that, you just react," Bahr said.
The men said it took about one minute to reach the other boat some 200 yards away.
"It seemed like it took forever," Bahr said.
Bourasa noticed one of the men was wearing a life jacket and above water while the other man who was not wearing a life jacket kept slipping under.
"We saw them struggling, we saw one go down twice," Bourasa said. "We had to do something and we had to do something now."
Bourasa and Bahr pulled the men onto their boat as the other boat spun out of control, now dangerously close.
"It was a struggle because at that point they were pretty much dead weight, they'd been in the water, I don't know, maybe 5 or 10 minutes," Bahr said.
"The first guy we brought up, in his mid-20s, he was very distraught," Bourasa said. "Legs were numb, he could barely speak."
Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Eric Bradt's water rescue team treated the victims a few minutes after they were saved.
"In cold water you are going to lose your heat, your body heat 25 times faster than you would if you were in cold air," Bradt explained.
"Their body temperature 92 degrees approximately," Bradt said. "From our experience, if your body temperature gets down to about 88 degrees you're going to lose all motor skills and you're more likely going to drown."
Bradt explained water temperatures can look deceiving this time of year and it is always best to be safe and wear a life jacket.
The water was around 52 degrees when the men fell in, according to Bradt.
"We consider anything under 70 degrees to be cold water," Bradt said.
Bradt said the man without the life jacket came within minutes of drowning.
He said to always wear a life jacket and if a boat flips and the person cannot swim to an immediate destination it is best to stay near the boat so someone can find them and they do not waste energy.
The two cousins told WCCO by phone they are doing well and grateful to be alive and to the men who saved them.