Dramatic video shows the moment a person desperately clinging to a wall after being swept into the rushing waters of the Los Angeles River was rescued by a heroic first responder suspended from a helicopter.
Los Angeles Fire Department ground and air crews responded to the rain-swollen river south of Washington Blvd. within the Boyle Heights neighborhood around 5 p.m. Wednesday after getting a report a couple of person in distress.
Heart-pounding aerial footage shot by KTLA’s Sky5 captured the person desperately holding onto a “concrete sheer wall” as he waited to be pulled up by an LAFD member who was lowered on a cable from a helicopter.
Muddy waters are seen within the video churning throughout the stranded man following recent rainstorms that drenched parts of the California and caused rivers to rise.
The rescuer struggles for several minutes to achieve the terrified victim because of high winds causing him to be blown off track.
Finally, the LAFD first responder is in a position to grab hold of the person and connect a hoist to his waterlogged body.
After a number of tense moments, during which each men ended up within the fast-moving water as much as their chests, they were pulled to safety by the LAFD helicopter hovering overhead.
The unnamed man was transported to LAC+USC Medical Center to be treated for hypothermia, but no other injuries were reported.
It was not immediately known how he wound up within the river, or how long he had spent within the frigid water awaiting rescue.
