Firefighters Airlifted to Safety After Rescue Boat Plunges Over Waterfall

In a dramatic turn of events, the New Jersey State Police helicoptered firefighters to safety after their boat was engulfed in water following their own rescue of a group of contractors who became stranded on the precipice of a waterfall.

The Clifton Fire Department was dispatched on Wednesday to help the contractors, who had become separated from a larger party, WABC reported.

The contractors were engaged in a construction project, cutting down trees along the Dundee Dam in Clifton, New Jersey. Their boat detached from a second craft, causing them to veer towards Dundee Falls.

Firefighters were deployed to assist the contractors. However, after completing the rescue, the current of the Passaic River, which flows through the Dundee Dam, swept the firefighters towards the falls as well.

"We went out there with our boat and attempted to rescue them," said Clifton Mayor Raymond Grabowski, according to the outlet. "Our rescue boat was carried over the falls with our men in it and submerged."

The rescue operation was captured on camera. Footage shows a rescue worker descending from a New Jersey State Police helicopter using a rope. The worker harnessed one of the two firefighters in the engulfed vessel and hoisted him up to the helicopter.

The rescue worker encountered difficulties when returning to save the second firefighter. The video shows currents and wind pushing him away from the second firefighter upon descending.

The force of the currents and winds made him retreat, the station reported. After 15 minutes, the rescue worker returned. He descended back down to the water's surface, secured the firefighter, and hoisted him to safety.

"They just happened to be in the area with their helicopter, which is amazing," Grabowski said. "The chief told me that they were happy to be in the area when they were called, and that helped."