Three 22-year-old yeshiva students were rescued on Friday from Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York, after the ice they were walking on broke and they fell into the freezing water.
The three had come to the Far Rockaway area to attend a friend’s aufruf (Shabbat before a wedding). While heading out toward the water, they fell through the ice and were submerged. One of the students remained in the icy water for approximately 40 minutes.
The New York Police Department and volunteers from a Hatzalah rescue organization launched a large-scale rescue operation. A helicopter from the police aviation unit was dispatched to the scene, along with dive teams.
During the operation, one of the rescuers briefly fell into the water but recovered and continued assisting with the rescue.
All three students were successfully rescued and evacuated to nearby hospitals in stable condition.