New footage captured the shocking moment a 35-year-old woman was rescued by a helicopter crew after being swept across the Los Angeles River.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, firefighters were called to the river in Studio City shortly after 5 p.m., when members of the flood control panel saw the terrified woman near Whitsett Drive.
Although it was only knee-deep, the water, which was swollen by spring rain, flowed at 15 miles per hour.
The video showed the woman being dragged down the river at a dizzying pace, splashing her arms wildly in the water, desperate for help.
Lifeguards could be seen standing on the side of the embankment, throwing life preservers and other flotation devices toward the distraught woman.
The unidentified Californian woman, 35, was swept away by the Los Angeles River, which was flowing at a speed of 15 mph.
On the other side of the overpass, a rescuer hurriedly descended from an LAFD helicopter, hoping to intercept the woman.
But the woman was moving at such a speed that she couldn’t grab the flotation devices.
In the video, taken by NBCLAThe woman disappeared under an overpass and for a few heart-stopping minutes she was hidden from the camera’s view.
At the top of the overpass, countless ambulances, police cars and fire trucks waited nervously.
As the woman disappeared under the overpass on one side, a first responder hurriedly descended from an LAFD helicopter on the other side.
The man’s window was only there for a few seconds. He needed to jump into the water and intercept the woman before she was pushed further downstream.
In a breathless sequence of events, the lifeguard could be seen floating above the raging river, suspended by a cable coming from the helicopter.
In the video you can see the lifeguard standing in the woman’s path.
The woman lunged toward the lifeguard, who prepared to try to pull the woman out of the river.
They held hands for a moment and then the river swept the woman downstream.
He moved into the woman’s path and prepared to make contact with her and hopefully free her from the water.
She lunged toward him and the lifeguard grabbed the woman’s hand.
They held hands, but the 15 mile per hour current was too fast and the woman was swept away from the rescuer.
The lifeguard then fell into the water and skillfully swam for the woman before finally grabbing her.
After emergency personnel caught the woman, the two were safely loaded onto the helicopter around 5:40 p.m.
The woman was airlifted to Dignity Health-Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where she was treated for minor injuries and hypothermia.
Rescuers had previously attempted to help the woman by lowering a wooden ladder into the river, which the woman was only able to hold onto for a moment before being swept away by the river.
After the woman was dragged by the lifeguard, he entered the water and swam after her.
Within moments, he was able to grab the distraught woman and stop her progress downstream.
It is currently unknown how the woman ended up in the river.
At one point during her terrifying journey down the river, the woman was allegedly able to stand up for a brief moment before being hit by the river again.
Firefighters also attempted to rescue the woman by lowering a 24-foot wooden ladder into the river, which she was able to hold onto for a few moments until the river carried her away.
After her rescue, the woman assured firefighters that no other humans or animals were in danger during the incident.
