A North Carolina man heroically jumped into fast-moving flood waters to save a woman who was trapped in a pile of debris.
Eddie Hunnell was caught on video making the daring rescue after Leslie Worth was swept away in the New River when her home was swept into the water on Friday.
Hunnell was in the area to celebrate his son’s wedding when the river waters began to rise rapidly.
Footage of the daring rescue shows him diving into the strong, icy currents of the New River from a rowboat.
Wearing a life jacket and rope, he is quickly dragged down the river along with Worth, who can be seen wearing his own life jacket.
Footage of the daring rescue shows him diving into the strong, icy currents of the New River from a rowboat.
Hunnell was in the area to celebrate his son’s wedding when the river waters began to rise rapidly.
As onlookers run across a nearby bank to help Hunnell, he manages to intercept Worth in the water.
With his hand firmly gripping the back of his life jacket, he can be seen swimming doggedly back to shore.
The two can then be seen standing up and sharing a hug as they climb up the riverbank.
Worth can be seen being greeted with hugs as she gasps and tries to catch her breath.
talking to WRAL Afterward, Hunnell said, “When it was happening, I was trying to take the calculated risk of ‘how do we save her?'”
He continued: ‘I grew up swimming on a swim team. I was a lifeguard and I’m in good shape, but I couldn’t see her die. “I felt like I needed to do that.”
Hunnell added: “I didn’t realize until I lay in bed that night and had a panic attack, but I didn’t see any other option.”
Worth and her husband Phil lost all their belongings when their home sank into flood waters. A GoFundMe has since been launched to help them.
Later, the couple was also welcomed as family guests at the wedding rehearsal dinner.
After the daring rescue, Worth can be seen being greeted with hugs as she gasps and tries to catch her breath as she is welcomed ashore.
Worth and her husband Phil, center and left, lost all their belongings when their home sank into floodwaters.
Homes and vehicles that were damaged by flash flooding caused by Hurricane Helene sit on the side of a road near the Swannanoa River in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
People clean up after Hurricane Helene on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Hot Springs, North Carolina.
They are among hundreds of families who were devastated by Hurricane Helene, which hit the southeast of the country last week.
cnn has reported that the storm has killed at least 137 people in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Among the most affected areas is the city of Asheville, North Carolina, which is located in a valley and where the death of 40 people has been confirmed so far.
Rescuers continue their efforts to contact hundreds of people who are isolated by washed out roads and downed communication lines.
Images of the destruction caused by the hurricane reveal a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers, mud-covered roads and collapsed communication lines.
Damage estimates ranged from $15 billion to more than $100 billion, insurers and forecasters said over the weekend, as water systems, communications and critical transportation routes were affected.
Property damage and loss of economic output will become more apparent as officials assess the destruction.
