A couple of teens being teens forced rescuers to come to their aid on Saturday after they found themselves stranded on thin ice in Little Neck Bay in Queens.
Several passersby and neighbors recorded with cell phones as firefighters dressed in waterproof, insulating suits crawled out more than 300 feet to rescue the two teens—a boy and a girl—on a ladder, plucking them to safety.
One lakeside resident told CBS New York she's seen people attempting to stroll out on the ice several times in the past. In this case, she suspects the teens panicked when they saw water seeping through the ice cracks.
At one point during the rescue, the male teen reportedly fell through the ice. He was treated for exposure at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
The city is begging people to stay off of seemingly frozen lakes and ponds, since despite unusually frigid temperatures, many are not entirely solid.
“If not for the quick response and brave work of FDNY members in frigid, icy waters, New Yorkers may have lost their lives,” Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement. “Venturing onto the ice of New York City's rivers and waterways is dangerous.”
