WINTHROP, Mass. — A group of good Samaritans helped rescue a man from a boat that sunk in the cold waters off the coast of Winthrop, Massachusetts, last week.
Winthrop Harbormaster Arthur Hickey told WHDH that the man’s boat capsized about a half-mile from the shore Thursday, and the boater was pulled from the water with just moments to spare.
"His life jacket was saturated. It's pretty heavy, full of water, so he wasn't going to last much longer there,” Hickey told the Boston TV news station.
The man reportedly told the harbormaster that he had been in the chilly and choppy waters for about 35 minutes after his boat rolled over.
Thankfully, a group of strangers in another boat were nearby and were able to pull the man from the water even before rescue crews arrived.
"Another vessel had pulled up. I call them good Samaritans because these guys stopped right away and pulled him on board. They had a blanket they put around him," said Hickey.
The shivering man was rushed to shore and taken to an area hospital to be treated for possible hypothermia, WHDH reports.
If it weren’t for the good Samaritans, Hickey says the rescue mission could have turned into a recovery.
Officials have not said what caused the man’s 18-foot boat to capsize, though the ocean’s rough waters likely played a role.
“It was very choppy out there today. There were some nice three-to-four-foot rollers in the area,” said Hickey.