Story C/O Buffalo News:
A man in his 60s was pulled out of the water by the City of Tonawanda Police Underwater Recovery Squad around 2:30 p.m. Sunday after his motor boat capsized. Rescuers were able to get a pulse and he was taken to DeGraff Hospital in North Tonawanda.
The man and his adult son were in a 16-foot motorized rowboat watching other family members in tubes that were taking part in an unsanctioned flotilla event in the Niagara River near Tonawanda Island when their boat engine conked out.
In their efforts to make repairs to the engine on the back of the boat, the boat swamped and then capsized, sending both men into the water, according to City of Tonawanda Police Capt. Frederic Foels. He said the boat capsized in a bend where the Erie Canal opens up into the Niagara River.
“There was a lot of boat traffic in the river,” said Foels, who called the river, “a little choppy.”
The younger man was wearing a life jacket and was able to surface and cling to the boat to await rescue, but the older man was not wearing a life jacket, said Foels.
Police boats from North Tonawanda, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Tonawanda were at the scene for the flotilla and were quickly called into service for the rescue.
“The City of Tonawanda boat was right there because they were monitoring this flotilla when the call came in around 2 p.m.,” said Foels.
Police divers went in and pulled the victim from the water.
He was taken to the docks behind Police Headquarters, where a Fire Department medical team performed CPR. The condition and identity of the victim were not immediately available.
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