Officer Helder Santos (
)
Cops courageously rescued two teens yesterday after they fell into the East River in East Harlem, authorities said.
The 17-year-old pals were hanging out with friends who may have been drinking at the edge of the river near East 111th Street about 12:45 p.m., cops said.
The boys were horsing around and hanging onto the outside of the railing on the promenade along the river’s edge when one boy lost his grip and fell into the freezing water, cops said.
His buddy tried to help, but wound up falling in after him, cops said.
The other kids called 911 for help.
Sgt. Joseph Hartnett and Officer Helder Santos arrived to find Christopher Arriago and his friend Diego Perez clinging to wooden pylons, which were sticking out of the icy waters, police said.
They grabbed Arriaga from the river but had a harder time reaching Perez, who didn’t want to let go of the pylon at first and was suffering from hypothermia, police said.
So two other officers, Siddiqua Withers and Leonardo Munoz, held on to Hartnett and Santos by their belts and legs as they dangled over the river to reach Perez.
The daring move gave the two cops the extra reach they needed to pluck Perez from the fast-moving river waters, police said.
Both kids were taken to Harlem Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.