Three men were rescued from Jamaica Bay after falling through the ice Friday, with NYPD scuba divers pulling them from the water and police helicopter pilots then flying them to safety, cops said.
Three men, all 22 years old, fell through the ice into the estuary’s frigid waters off Norton Drive and Bayswater Ave. in Bayswater around 4:15 p.m., according to law enforcement.
Video captured from a rescue chopper hovering above Jamaica Bay shows one of the men at the end of a long trail of broken ice that extends off-screen. He clasps hands with an NYPD frogman lying flat on the bay’s frozen surface, who pulls the man out of the icy water, the video shows.
Earlier this evening, members of our Scuba Team, Aviation Unit, Emergency Service Unit, and the @FDNY rescued three individuals from frozen waters in Far Rockaway.
No matter the conditions, our officers are always ready to answer the call. pic.twitter.com/kA42EU2srT
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 6, 2026
Another clip shows both the diver and the man tethered to a helicopter as they are lifted off the ice.
Meanwhile, another diver can be seen climbing out of a hole in the water’s frozen surface, before crawling to a second man in distress, whom he joins in the water before they too are airlifted to safety.
Two of the men were taken to Mt. Sinai Nassau, while the third was transported to St. Johns Hospital, all of them in stable condition, cops said.
Police spokespersons did not immediately say why the three men were out on the ice.
