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American Morning
Interview With Harry Rosettani
Aired February 24, 2004 - 08:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: An amazing story here, rescuers pulled a woman from the Niagara River yesterday -- just about a frozen river, too -- about 100 feet from the edge of Canada's Horseshoe Falls.
Freelance photographer Harry Rosettani caught it all on videotape and he is our guest to relate what he saw yesterday live in Buffalo.
Nice to see you, Harry.
Good morning to you.
HARRY ROSETTANI, PHOTOGRAPHER WHO TAPED FALLS RESCUE: Good morning.
HEMMER: All this happened shortly before five o'clock yesterday, about 4:40 in the afternoon.
ROSETTANI: Correct.
HEMMER: What did you see when you arrived?
ROSETTANI: Well, I saw the woman tethered to a rope just offshore, huddling, freezing and firefighters desperately trying to reach her.
HEMMER: Give us an idea of the conditions for that water. It looks downright freezing in this videotape.
ROSETTANI: Well, you can see the firefighters going down the slope and the slope is a mountain of ice along the shore there. And it's caused by the mist from the falls, which is, because of our extremely cold winter, it's continually piling up, building up. And the firefighters had a terrible time trying to access this poor woman in the water.
HEMMER: How long was she in that water, Harry?
ROSETTANI: Well, the rescue took one hour. Now, who knows how long she was in the river? She was first spotted three quarters of a mile upstream. Now, she floated down, submerged at times, but she went through treacherous rapids. And the water was over her head and she submerged and resurfaced and then grabbed onto a rock just before going over the falls...
HEMMER: Wow!
ROSETTANI: ... some time, somewhere between 50 and 100 feet. HEMMER: Now, I know she suffered some hypothermia. She lost consciousness when she was pulled from the water.
Tell us a bit about the rescuers themselves. It's my understanding they actually were practicing that day a similar rescue like we're watching on your videotape.
ROSETTANI: An hour before the fire department, the Niagara Falls, Ontario Fire Department got the call, they had just returned to their stationhouse and they had all the equipment on board and they got this call. But they had previously, an hour before, been practicing that particular rescue technique in the river above the falls.
HEMMER: That is remarkable.
ROSETTANI: Now, the water is freezing. The water is 32 degrees and this woman, as I say, came down through the rapids. But the firefighters were relentless. They just wouldn't give up.
HEMMER: How do you think she survived? Why is she alive today?
ROSETTANI: Because she changed her mind and she wanted to live. And I think the firefighters encouraged her to stay alive and live. I mean anyone who's spent an hour, at least, in that subfreezing temperature water temperature, you would succumb. And the first firefighter that reached her, she immediately collapsed into his arms. She was comatose, hypothermic and in deep shock.
HEMMER: Well, congratulations to those men who braved it yesterday.
I understand it's so cold this time of year the mist from the falls turns to ice in midair. Is that right?
ROSETTANI: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, it does.
HEMMER: Harry Rosettani...
ROSETTANI: It makes it very treacherous and dangerous for the firefighters.
HEMMER: Yes.
Listen, thanks for sharing your story today.
And the woman is going to make it and we appreciate your time and your videotape, too.
ROSETTANI: My pleasure.
HEMMER: Thank you, Harry.
The best to you.
ROSETTANI: Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 24, 2004 - 08:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: An amazing story here, rescuers pulled a woman from the Niagara River yesterday -- just about a frozen river, too -- about 100 feet from the edge of Canada's Horseshoe Falls.
Freelance photographer Harry Rosettani caught it all on videotape and he is our guest to relate what he saw yesterday live in Buffalo.
Nice to see you, Harry.
Good morning to you.
HARRY ROSETTANI, PHOTOGRAPHER WHO TAPED FALLS RESCUE: Good morning.
HEMMER: All this happened shortly before five o'clock yesterday, about 4:40 in the afternoon.
ROSETTANI: Correct.
HEMMER: What did you see when you arrived?
ROSETTANI: Well, I saw the woman tethered to a rope just offshore, huddling, freezing and firefighters desperately trying to reach her.
HEMMER: Give us an idea of the conditions for that water. It looks downright freezing in this videotape.
ROSETTANI: Well, you can see the firefighters going down the slope and the slope is a mountain of ice along the shore there. And it's caused by the mist from the falls, which is, because of our extremely cold winter, it's continually piling up, building up. And the firefighters had a terrible time trying to access this poor woman in the water.
HEMMER: How long was she in that water, Harry?
ROSETTANI: Well, the rescue took one hour. Now, who knows how long she was in the river? She was first spotted three quarters of a mile upstream. Now, she floated down, submerged at times, but she went through treacherous rapids. And the water was over her head and she submerged and resurfaced and then grabbed onto a rock just before going over the falls...
HEMMER: Wow!
ROSETTANI: ... some time, somewhere between 50 and 100 feet. HEMMER: Now, I know she suffered some hypothermia. She lost consciousness when she was pulled from the water.
Tell us a bit about the rescuers themselves. It's my understanding they actually were practicing that day a similar rescue like we're watching on your videotape.
ROSETTANI: An hour before the fire department, the Niagara Falls, Ontario Fire Department got the call, they had just returned to their stationhouse and they had all the equipment on board and they got this call. But they had previously, an hour before, been practicing that particular rescue technique in the river above the falls.
HEMMER: That is remarkable.
ROSETTANI: Now, the water is freezing. The water is 32 degrees and this woman, as I say, came down through the rapids. But the firefighters were relentless. They just wouldn't give up.
HEMMER: How do you think she survived? Why is she alive today?
ROSETTANI: Because she changed her mind and she wanted to live. And I think the firefighters encouraged her to stay alive and live. I mean anyone who's spent an hour, at least, in that subfreezing temperature water temperature, you would succumb. And the first firefighter that reached her, she immediately collapsed into his arms. She was comatose, hypothermic and in deep shock.
HEMMER: Well, congratulations to those men who braved it yesterday.
I understand it's so cold this time of year the mist from the falls turns to ice in midair. Is that right?
ROSETTANI: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, it does.
HEMMER: Harry Rosettani...
ROSETTANI: It makes it very treacherous and dangerous for the firefighters.
HEMMER: Yes.
Listen, thanks for sharing your story today.
And the woman is going to make it and we appreciate your time and your videotape, too.
ROSETTANI: My pleasure.
HEMMER: Thank you, Harry.
The best to you.
ROSETTANI: Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
