A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew braved the low visibility and cold rapids to reach a partially submerged car near the edge of Niagara Falls, then placed a rescue swimmer on a crane to pull the woman trapped inside Came out. She failed to survive.
New York State Parks Police Cpt said: "We have never had a vehicle so close to the edge of the waterfall." Christopher Rolla said.
WIVB-TV, affiliated with CBS, filmed a dramatic video of the Coast Guard's painful rescue attempt.
Dramatic video: The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a bold rescue attempt on the edge of Niagara Falls on Wednesday, dropping a diver from a helicopter and pulling a corpse out of a car that somehow entered the distance from the edge of the waterfall About 50 yards of rapids. https://t.co/Nrn9dY7Gmo pic.twitter.com/OMaYznePqF
The video shows that second-class noncommissioned officer Derrian Duryea (Derrian Duryea), wearing an orange suit with an axe in his left hand, was blown down by wind and sprayed with water when he was lowered 80 feet from the car in snow. After spinning slowly and bypassing the car, he was able to grab the passenger side and open the door.
"When I got down, I was really focused on how I would get into this car. You know, there are a lot of rapids in the car next to Niagara Falls," Duryea said by phone after returning to Selfridge. National Guard base, northeast of Detroit, where the crew is stationed. "My only concern is which window or door I want to enter."
"Fortunately, the car was not locked and I did not break any windows. I was able to open the passenger side door and push up against the current," he said.
Throughout the operation, helicopter pilot Lieutenant Chris Monazzelli and flight mechanic Jon Finnatti watched the icy fog of the waterfall closely as it covered the hovering aircraft, including windows, further limiting their vision.
"A lot of larger aircraft have deicing capabilities, but we don't," Monazzelli said. "We had a lot of discussions and training on what we would do if we encountered this situation, because if you did accumulate enough ice on the helicopter, it would fall from the sky."
About two minutes after entering the car, water surged around the vehicle and passed the edge of the waterfall about 50 yards downstream. Duryea appeared and motioned Finnerty to lift him and the motionless driver (a woman in her 60s) from the water.
"The current there is very good, and the car is close to the edge of the waterfall. If it moves, we don't want him to be dragged out," Finnerty said.
It is unclear how the car entered the Niagara River. Witnesses reported seeing it floating near a pedestrian bridge, and it is believed to have entered. The roads in the area are slippery.
The air conditions were not much better. When they were dispatched to Niagara Falls, New York, when Coast Guard members were on a training flight in Lake St. Clair, Michigan, snow cover restricted visibility to less than half a mile.
"Once, we really just flew on a street because we saw this road, and we tried to avoid the windmill farm west of Niagara," Monacheli said. "So we were flying on the road because these huge windmills suddenly appeared half a mile away from us."
After the rescue, the car was almost completely submerged. Only part of the roof and the open trunk hatch were visible. It was located in the rapids upstream of the American Falls, which is one of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. Onlookers watched as emergency workers prepare to try to pull the vehicle out of the water.
The authorities stated that the driver lives in the area. Before informing her relatives, her name was not announced.
Today, we mourn the passing of life.
We commend our crew for the preparation and courage shown today to achieve 80 feet. In inclement weather, hoisted from an underwater vehicle 20 yards from the top of Niagara Falls. "For them, we are #SemperParatus." #USCG
Captain Rolla said that due to the location of the car, the fast water rescue team in his department could not reach the car. The police used the drone to determine that it was occupied.
"The coast guard's work is incredible," Lola said.
He said investigators will try to determine whether the vehicle was accidentally or deliberately involved in the water.
The history of Niagara Falls attracts both daredevils who try to deceive death by jumping into the waterfall with a self-made device, as well as those driven by suicide.
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First published on December 9, 2021 / 6:56 AM
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