Woman's 911 Call Saves Stranded Fishermen Clinging To Boat Debris In Freezing Water

Three fishermen were rescued off the coast of Massachusetts after their boat sank, thanks to a woman on the shore whose sharp eyes caught the sight of the capsized vessel.

The fishermen were stranded in the water for nearly an hour Tuesday afternoon. As the 55-foot boat sank so fast, the fishermen didn’t even have time to wear survival suits or make distress calls. They clung to debris and fishing gear in the frigid waters.

“The whole boat flipped over; I was thrown in the water,” crew member Joe Roderick told WCVB-TV.

Meanwhile, Pam Harght was working from her Marshfield home when she saw the sight of the vessel capsizing. “I saw the boat, and all of a sudden, it looked like it had turned over,” she said, according to Boston Globe. “Something was clearly wrong.”

Harght was on a business call when she saw a cloud of black smoke, followed by the boat disappearing. “It happened so fast,” she told the outlet. “I excused myself from the call. I said, ‘I have to go,’ and just hung up.”

Harght is believed to be the only person who witnessed the incident from the shore. She thought others may have called 911 but later discovered she was the only person to make the call. With location coordinates provided by Harght, rescue personnel was able to locate the stranded fishermen and bring them to dry land.

Roderick told WCVB-TV that they made small talk to stay alert until help arrived. Officials said the fishermen remained in the 42-degree water for about 45 minutes.

“A million things ran through my head,” he told the station. “Am I going to make it home to see my daughters?”

The fishermen were taken to the hospital after their rescue. Officials told Harght that the men might have only survived for another five minutes if not for her call.

Roderick, who is recovering from hypothermia and from swallowing saltwater and diesel fuel, said he is grateful to Harght for spotting them just in time. “If it wasn’t for this woman, I probably wouldn’t be here,” he told the outlet.

Harght is also glad she could help save the three fishermen. “Obviously, it was a great feeling,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “My brother is in the fishing industry, and I thought, ‘That easily could have been his boat.’”