A water rescue crew with the FDNY hauled a struggling person out of the East River after powerful currents pinned them against the base of the Roosevelt Island Bridge late Wednesday night, dramatic footage of the mission shows.
The Marine 6 team responded to reports of a person stranded in the river around 10 p.m. and found them clinging to a pipe conduit on the foot of the bridge, where they were pinned and “barely above” the water’s surface, the FDNY said.
As the fire boat pulled up to the person in trouble, a selfless firefighter dove into the dark, rushing river, where he battled through the speeding current, broken pilings and debris in the water to reach the castaway, the video shows.
The firefighter grabbed hold of the struggling swimmer and sandwiched them between himself and a rescue torpedo — but the mighty current soon yanked them both beneath the bow of the fire boat, fire officials said.
The remaining crew on board skillfully moved the boat to free the two and heaved them onto the boat, where the distressed swimmer was treated for hypothermia and handed over to emergency responders, according to the FDNY.
“The current was coming in from behind the boat. We had to get as close as possible so the [FDNY] swimmer could get close enough so he wouldn’t get swept away. We also had to make sure we wouldn’t endanger the patient. Overall, it was a huge team effort to recover the patient and transfer them to EMS,” Marine 6 Captain Sean Regan said.
It’s unclear how the person wound up in the rough waters in the first place.
The Post reached out to the FDNY for an update on the survivor but did not hear back before publication time.
Responding to a report of a person in the water around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, #FDNY Marine 6 rescued a person who was pinned against the pilings and hanging onto a pipe conduit, barely above the surface on the south side of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.Battling a powerful… pic.twitter.com/vQYmAVWYJY
— FDNY (@FDNY) August 14, 2025
Around the same time as the water rescue, other FDNY officials up in the Bronx were battling an out-of-control apartment fire.
After the flames were extinguished, an emotionally disturbed 42-year-old man who had previously been evicted from the building was taken into custody.
Two firefighters were injured in the blaze.
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