HELPING HAND: FDNY swimmer Steven Hoek rescued one of the exhausted men thrown into the East River when their boat capsized. (
)
SAFE: A man who was rescued after his boat overturned in the East River. (William Farrington)
Police Lt. John Rogers, left, and Det. Darin Caputo, right, rushed to wayward boaters’ aid. (NYPD)
Cops and firefighters rescued three men today who were setting up for a canoe regatta when their boat capsized, sending them into the East River’s strong currents, authorities said.
The 25-foot Grady White capsized just before 8 a.m. after a line that had been dropped in the water got caught on a cleat, police said. The current was so strong that the line pulled down the boat, and it flipped over, taking on water.
The men had been setting up buoys for the Liberty Challenge, a 15-mile canoe regatta, cops said.
Lieutenant John Rogers and Detective Darin Caputo, who work in the NYPD Counterterrorism Division, said they were patrolling the East River when they heard over the radio that a boat had capsized — and then quickly spotted two men clinging to a sinking boat.
Caputo, a former Marine diver, brought their boat about five foot away to the Grady White, and brought a 53-year-old Staten Island man, who wasn’t wearing a jacket, onto their NYPD boat using a rope.
“He was very tired,” said Rogers, who has also served with the Coast Guard for almost thirty years. “He was exhausted, he didn’t know how to swim.”
They then rescued a 60-year-old New Jersey man. The boaters were heavyset, and Caputo injured his neck and back pulling them out.
The Staten Island man thanked the two, and said that they saved his life.
Steven Hoek, an FDNY swimmer, coordinated with cops and rescued a 55-year-old New Jersey man. He tethered himself to Marine 6, an FDNY boat, and then pulled him out of the water.
“It was a total team effort,” said Hoek. “The current was moving unusually fast. He was very happy to get out of the water. He was trying to swim to the sea wall, but you could see he was tiring.”
The three were then taken to Pier 17, and EMS brought the 53-year-old to Bellevue Hospital for treatment of a head injury. The 60-year-old was hospitalized for a leg injury. They were listed in stable condition.
Caputo was treated at Lutheran Medical Center for his injuries.