Volunteer firefighters pulled a teenage boy from the ocean Saturday afternoon after he was spotted clinging to driftwood off Glace Bay, N.S.
John Chant, chief of the Glace Bay Volunteer Fire Department, said a call came in at 12:42 p.m. reporting someone struggling to get back to shore near Hill Street.
The boy, who the chief estimated to be between 15 and 17 years old, was holding on to a piece of driftwood about 45 metres from shore when he arrived on the scene.
“You could tell he was tired,” Chant said in an interview Sunday. “He was calling out for help.”
Crews from Glace Bay and Dominion launched boats from Glace Bay harbour and were able to reach the teen within minutes.
Chant said conditions on the water made the rescue dangerous. Swells were so high at times that he lost sight of the rescue boats and the water was “extremely dirty,” which he said is a sign of a strong riptide.
Firefighters tossed the boy a rope bag, then pulled him alongside a boat before bringing him aboard. He was taken ashore in the harbour, where paramedics assessed him.
The teen, who had been in the water for around 20 minutes, did not appear to suffer serious injuries but was exhausted and visibly shaken, Chant said.
“He was shaking, more from probably the shock of the incident than the temperature of the water,” he said.
The teen had been at the beach with two friends, who remained on the shore. Chant is unsure how the boy ended up in the water, but said the area is a popular spot when the weather is calm.
The volunteer fire department posted a video of the rescue on social media that now has over 110,000 views.
Chant cautions people to be careful around the water, with the remnants of Hurricane Erin still churning up the Atlantic Ocean.
“With the hurricanes coming through, the ocean is very dangerous right now,” he said. “These riptides are strong and they put not just swimmers at risk, but also rescuers who have to go out in them.”
