Nine people were rescued from a capsized boat near Grand Isle, including a 7-year-old girl who had to be revived by first responders.
It happened around 6:40 p.m. on Saturday near Grand Isle’s beach.
Adam Eink with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries an LDWF agent Stephen Rhodes patrolling the beach saw a boat off the shoreline in distress near a rock jetty and then capsized.
Eink says a good Samaritan helped the agent launch his boat which he used to make his way to the capsized boat where eight people were found standing on the boat’s hull.
Rhodes got the people safely on board his vessel but they had told him there was a young girl still missing in the water.
Another good Samaritan arrived in another boat and helped the agent hold his vessel from drifting away with the rescued people onboard as he dove into the water to rescue the girl.
“And while he was in the water, he found the girl trapped under the capsized vessel,” said Eink. “He was able to get her out of the vessel and into his patrol vessel. She was unresponsive he immediately began conducting CPR.”
By the second attempt at reviving the girl, Eink says, she began to breathe again. The agent was able to rush the little girl ashore with the others where EMS was waiting to take the girl to Children’s Hospital where she is now expected to make a full recovery.
“Time was of the essence, she was wearing a person floatation device so she may have been able to find pockets of air here, and there, obviously her time was running out, and our agent with his quick action and also the help of the good Samaritans is what helped save this little girl,” said Eink.
