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QuoteSurvivor Tells Story Behind Boating Accident
Rescue Used Construction Crane
DES MOINES, Iowa-- A woman saved during a dramatic rescued Tuesday said she and her husband were scouting a place to watch fireworks with their grandchildren when their boat was pulled into the currents of a Des Moines dam.
The long and the short of it: a couple in a small boat drifted too close to a low-water dam, and went over, capsizing their boat, and trapping the woman in the roiling current at it's base. The man was swept further downstream.
A local water-rescue boat was unable to navigate the dangerous currents, which kept pushing the woman under repeatedly. Tossed ropes were ineffective.
Meanwhile, observant construction workers (working on a nearby foot-bridge) saw the dilemma, and thinking quickly, one (who fortunately had on a safety harness) strapped on to the working end of the boom-crane. His buddy, the operator quickly sprang to the controls, and up-up-and away-- hoisted the harness-wearer out over the water.
He was able to grab the woman, and the crane operator moved both into calmer waters, where she was finally taken onto the rescue boat.
Alas, her husband did not survive, but she was treated and released.
Kudos to those quick-thinking construction dudes, for thinking out of the box.
Amazing. People can be marvelous.