Man rescued from hidden waterway under Yonkers train station
YONKERS, N.Y. -- Water rescues in Yonkers are usually on the Hudson River, but on Saturday firefighters and police officers worked together to rescue a man stuck in an underground section of the Saw Mill River.
"Underneath the train station, they heard screaming and someone in distress," said Officer Thomas Allison.
Allison and Officer RJ Thomas put on their wetsuits and held onto rescue ropes as they swam into the darkness and strong current to find the person in distress.
"Could not hit the bottom of it. The depths were about six to eight feet down. So we had to swim it, roughly about 200 feet until we made contact with the male that we found and was basically clinging onto a rock up to his waist," said Allison. "He said his foot was stuck in between two rocks. We were able to free him from that situation, get a life ring around him and we were able to pull him in."
"He was very grateful, very cold. He couldn't say too much at the time because of his exposure to hypothermia," said Sgt. David Barca.
The water was 45 degrees. The man was stuck for an estimated two hours.
It's unclear why he entered the hidden waterway, but unquestioned he got out because first responders are equipped, trained and willing to do dangerous work.