Boaters about to plunge over dam caught by Illinois rescuers just in time, video shows

Firefighters saved three people in a broken-down boat just before they plunged over a dam, video shows.

Two adults and a teenager floated helplessly toward a dam Sunday afternoon on the Fox River in St. Charles, Illinois, after their engine stopped working and an anchor wasn’t holding the vessel, officials said in a news release. Strong winds from an approaching storm pushed the boat toward the dam as firefighters arrived at the scene, officials said.

Firefighters launched a rescue boat from a nearby park, officials said. Video shows them speeding to the boaters, throwing a rope to secure the vessel and boarding all three people onto the rescue vessel. Firefighters then took them to safety, video shows.

Less than a minute later, the boat plunged over the dam and disappeared from site, video shows.

“That was close,” a person said in the video.

This story was originally published July 3, 2019 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Boaters about to plunge over dam caught by Illinois rescuers just in time, video shows."