A kayaker had to be rescued after being dragged underwater in Suffolk County Wednesday morning.
Suffolk Marine Bureau officers Christopher Maggio, Thomas Ciota, Kyle Profit and Brendan Grogan responded after receiving a 911 call around 11 a.m. reporting a boater was in distress.
The Shirley man’s watercraft had become swamped and then his waders filled with water in the Great South Bay, about a quarter of a mile from Sore Thumb Beach.
Police tell News 12 their officers waded through knee-deep water to get to the kayaker, who was already on the sandbar after being assisted by good Samaritans.
The 68-year-old, who had been out clamming when the incident occurred, was semiconscious when he was strapped to a backboard to be removed from the water and transported to land via Marine Juliet.
He was then taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment.