A man was taken to the hospital after he was pulled from the water at Seattle’s Fishermen’s Terminal Friday night.
Seattle fire officials said the man was walking off a vessel on a makeshift plank and fell, when the plank broke.
Israel Bynum, a crew member on the vessel named Rondys, said he had just crossed the plank 30 seconds before his boss did.
“I was looking at him, and I heard the board break, and I went to try to support it and there was no support. He just went,” Bynum said.
Bynum said his captain, Mark Sehlbach, has been on the TV show ‘Deadliest Catch.”
Sehlbach was pulled out of the water and taken to Harborview Medical Center.
Later in the evening, Bynum said Sehlbach was discharged from the hospital with a bruised rib.
Later in the evening, Bynum said Sehlbach was discharged from the hospital with a bruised rib.
The crew had just returned Thursday from a trip to Alaska.
After seeing his boss plunge into the cold water, Bynum immediately tossed him a life ring, put on his survival suit, and jumped in.
He said he tried to support Sehlbach’s weight. He also tried swimming to find the nearest ladder with no success.
Daniel Gannon, who was on another docked boat at the terminal, heard cries for help. He rushed over and called 911.
“That was the first time I had to call 911. I’ve never had to pull someone out of the water in a life-threatening situation,” Gannon said.
Gannon brought a rope ladder for them to use.
By that time, a third person had jumped in the water to try to help.
Emergency personnel helped everyone get out of the water safely.
Rondys is a boat made by the U.S. Navy in 1933 and is now mainly used as a tender.
Bynum, who has been working on Rondys since 2015, said, “I have no expectation of ever coming home alive when I hop on that boat. So if somebody is in danger, I put myself there to help him.”
Cox Media Group
