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LA deputies rescue paragliders from drowning
Two paragliders are lucky to be alive after getting trapped and tangled after falling out of the sky. Two brave deputies dove into action to rescue them and get them to safety.
LOS ANGELES - Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are being hailed as heroes after a dramatic water rescue in Malibu Friday.
They initially responded to a call of two paragliders in distress around 12:30 p.m.
What they're saying:
"Nothing was really going through our minds, it was just, we got to act, we got to act now," said LASD Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station Deputy Sevak Grigoryan.
Body cam video shows Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station Deputies Sevak Grigoryan and Christopher Matkin taking off their boots and jumping into action after hearing screams off the coast of Carbon Beach.
Without hesitation, they say they swam about 75 feet towards what ended up being two paragliders that were trapped in their safety equipment and cords.
"It was a tense situation, both the victims were pulling down on everyone and dragging us under but we ere able to calm them down," said Deputy Christopher Matkin with LASD Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
The deputies say they used their knives to cut the cord wrapped around the paragliders’ feet and freed them from their equipment. Then they safely swam both paragliders back to shore.
Deputies say the fire department and paramedics were also on scene to help.
"This was not an easy swim, the paragliders were completely exhausted," said Captain Dustin Carr with LASD Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
As for what triggered the rescue, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department says preliminary information indicates weather was likely a factor.
"As they decreased in elevation they ran into the oceans fog bank as they went west and that's when they appeared to be disoriented and crashed into the ocean," said Captain Carr.
The paragliders, a man and a woman, are both okay.
The Source: Information for this story came from interviews with Deputy Sevak Grigoryan and Captain Dustin Carr.