Two Oswego State students were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after high seas swept them off the Oswego Harbor break wall at approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
The students were clinging to the rocks when a local fisherman made the call to the Coast Guard via VHF-FM channel 16, according to the U.S. Coast Guard in Oswego. Both were treated by emergency medical technicians and transported to Oswego Hospital.
Their names have not been released at this time.
Waves registered upward of six feet in the harbor Saturday, Cost Guard Machinery Technician 2nd Class Jason Furman said.
"When the waves hit the break wall, they break over and splash, and they got knocked into the water," Furman said.
Water temperatures in Lake Ontario register around 30 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year, Furman said. Survival time is at best 5 minutes, after which hypothermia sets in and the body progressively loses motor control.
"People need to choose wisely," Furman said. "When winds come out of the west like that, that is exactly what happens."
