Three 22-year-old Yeshiva Bochrim are lucky to be alive after they were rescued Friday afternoon after falling through the ice on Jamaica Bay (Bayswater) in Queens, near far Rockaway.
Sources tell YWN that the Bochrim were in the area for Shabbos to celebrate the Auf Ruf of a friend, when they fell through the ice and into the frigid water.
The NYPD, FDNY and Hatzalah quickly launched a large-scale rescue operation. Authorities deployed a helicopter from the NYPD aviation unit along with FDNY scuba teams to pull the men from the water.
Video footage shows each of the victims being removed individually. According to New York Post, the water temperature was reported to be around 36 degrees. One of the men reportedly showed minimal movement after spending nearly 40 minutes in the freezing water.
During the operation, one responder briefly fell into the water but was able to recover and continue assisting in the rescue.
Following the rescue, all three men were transported to area hospitals in stable condition. Two were taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, while the third was transported to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital. They are all in stable condition.
Sources tell YWN that a fourth Bochur had been walking with them prior to the incident, and there was fears he was underwater, but that later turned out to not be the case.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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6 Responses
Baruch Hashem
Why were they on the water to begin with?
“Sources tell YWN that the Bochrim were in the area for Shabbos to celebrate the Auf Ruf of a friend, when they fell through the ice and into the frigid water”. But it a jump there. How did they go from preparing for the Aufruf to falling through the ice (and risking the lives of rescuers)?
What were they doing out on the ice?
Boruch Mechaye Hameisim! Nissim V’Niflaos. Let’s all Thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu for saving their lives!
And exactly why were they walking on Jamaica Bay?
Apparently it’s considered normal for people to walk there because it stays frozen.