Yesterday morning, the NYPD's Aviation and Scuba units rescued two jet skiers who had been stranded overnight on two tiny islands in Lower New York Bay between Staten Island and Brooklyn.
According to the police, at 8:25 a.m. yesterday, they responded to the call about the missing jet skier near the West Bank Lighthouse, located southeast of Staten Island. The FDNY managed to remove a 29-year-old man from that location, but then learned he had been jet-skiing with a friend. So NYPD Air/Sea Rescue 22 searched for him. From the NYPD:
As the unit canvassed the area, they approached Swinburne Island at approximately 0855 hours. Pilot Sgt. John O'Hara, 54, observed a male, wearing a wet suit, waving with one hand from the land below. Det. Sean Daly, 40, of the Scuba Unit was lowered to the ground followed by a rescue basket.
The man, 47 of New Jersey, stated he was cold and did not have any visible injuries. Det. Daly secured the man into the basket, who was then hoisted into the helicopter. Det. Daly was then pulled into the helicopter and the aided was removed directly to Staten Island University Hospital where he was treated and released.
Swinburne Island used to be where cholera patients were quarantined. Here's video of that rescue:
According to the NY Times, Brooklyn resident Timur Bekbulatov—the 29-year-old rescued—told the FDNY, "All night I swam. All night." He and his partner, Sergey Khoroshev, 47, had been on the same jet ski. The Times adds, "It was not clear when and how the men, who both wore life vests, became separated from their jet ski and each other."
