A man was rescued from the East River last night, after he jumped in to escape his sinking $1 million fishing boat.
The unidentified 59-year-old man was sailing from Atlantic City to Mamaroneck at around 8 p.m. when the boat, a high-end 41-foot Post fishing vessel, hit a rock near College Point. As the boat began to sink, authorities say the man, who was not wearing a lifejacket, radioed a mayday before jumping into the 53-degree water.
Luckily, an NYPD marine unit was doing a training drill nearby, and they rescued him a few minutes later. “He was lucky,” NYPD Harbor Unit Detective Jeff Haas told the Daily News. “His boat was sinking fast and he didn’t have a life jacket. If we didn’t find him when we did, his boat would have been gone and he would have been alone in the pitch black darkness.” Officials say man was treated for mild hypothermia, but otherwise refused medical attention; the boat, meanwhile, doesn't seem to have been so lucky.
