Two NYPD officers came to the rescue of a pair of jet skiers after they were swept up in a strong current near the Rockaways last weekend, according to police.
The trouble started when the male jet skiers, ages 21 and 28, ran out of gas Saturday night in the water off of Beach Ninth Street and Seagirt Boulevard, authorities said. They then got caught in the current.
Police Officer Matthew Carson of the 101st Precinct, who was assigned to a nearby foot post, heard the 911 call at about 8:45 p.m. to help the stranded men.
By the time the officer arrived, the current had carried the two men and their jet skis several blocks down the beach, according to police. One man was holding onto the jet ski while the other, who was adrift in the current, wore a loose life vest that was unable to properly keep him afloat.
“His hands were going up in the air as he was going under the water,” said Police Officer Christopher Carlino, who by that time had arrived at the scene with additional cops.
Carson decided he was going to enter the water to save the jet skiers and Carlino volunteered to go with him.
“I came to the conclusion that this one guy wasn’t going to make it to the shore. It was my gut instinct to go into the water and make sure this guy wasn’t going to drown,” Carson said.
Carson, guided by a flashlight held by officers standing on land, made his way out to the man who was floating alone, and pulled him close to the shoreline where Carlino grabbed him and brought him to safety, authorities said. Carson then went back in the water and retrieved the other man and the jet ski.
The jet skiers were “exhausted” but uninjured, according to police.
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