A last-minute rescue, live on television. In the United States, in the state of Louisiana, a man was saved while his pickup was submerged by water, in a region hit hard by Hurricane Francine, Wednesday, September 11.
In the video captured by Jonah Gilmore, a reporter for local news outlet WDSU, a man is seen trying to rescue another man, braving deep, dark water, floodwaters and powerful winds.
The journalist, who was filming the scene live, alerted a police officer to the critical situation of this man trapped by the waters. But it was finally a resident, Miles Crawford, present by chance on the scene, who was the first to act.
As soon as he understood the urgency of the situation, the man ran back to his house to get a hammer with the aim of breaking the window of the truck and freeing the victim.
“I was watching television, I saw the police car, I saw it backing up and I saw you (the journalist, editor’s note) with the red jacket. I was interested in what was going on,” Miles Crawford later recounted.
The savior does not consider his gesture “exceptional”
The hero explains that his experience as an emergency nurse helped him stay calm throughout this rescue. “I’m used to a very, very, very, very high level of stress on a daily basis,” he added. Saving people? “We do that every day,” he answers with humility, adding that his gesture “is not exceptional.”
Although the man in the pickup was rescued in time, vigilance is still required in the state until the hurricane threat has passed. Colin Arnold, the state’s director of homeland security and emergency response, reminded local television that “it’s not the storm that’s dangerous, it’s its aftermath.” Here, flooding and downed power lines.
With much damage already reported on Thursday, September 12, the American Hurricane Center (NHC) called on the population to remain vigilant and to stay indoors “away from windows” as the storm moves toward southern Louisiana. “Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate over the next few hours,” the NHC warned.
- BFMTV.com
