New footage has captured the shocking moment that a 35-year-old woman was rescued by a helicopter crew after being carried away by the Los Angeles River.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, firefighters were summoned to the river in Studio City shortly after 5pm – when the terrified woman was seen by members of the flood control panel near Whitsett Drive.
Despite being only knee deep, the water – which was swollen with spring rain – was flowing at a furious 15 miles per hour.
The video showed the woman being swept along by the river at a breakneck pace, splashing her arms in the water wildly, desperate for help.
Responders could be seen standing on the side of the embankment, throwing life preservers and other floatation devices toward the distressed woman.
The unnamed California woman, 35, was swept borne along by the LA River, which flowed at a speed of 15mph
On the other side of the overpass, a rescuer hurriedly descended from an LAFD helicopter, hoping to intercept the woman
But the woman was moving at such a fast clip that she was unable to seize hold of the floatation devices.
In the video, taken by NBCLA, the woman disappeared under an overpass and for a few heart-stopping minutes was hidden from the camera’s view.
On top of the overpass, myriad ambulances and cop cars and fire trucks stood in nervous anticipation.
As the woman disappeared under the overpass on one side, a first responder hurriedly descended from an LAFD helicopter on the other side.
The man’s window was only a few seconds. He needed to drop into the water and intercept the woman before she was pushed further down stream.
In a breathless sequence of events, the first responder could be seen hovering above the raging river, suspended by a cable that came from the helicopter.
In the video, the rescuer could be seen positioning himself in the woman’s path
The woman hurtled toward the responder, who prepared himself to try and yank the woman free from the river
They grasped each other’s hands for a short moment, and then the river swept the woman farther downstream
He positioned himself in the woman’s path, and prepared to make contact with her and hopefully wrest her free from the water.
She hurtled toward him and the responder reached out for the woman’s hand.
They grasped each other’s hands but the 15-miler-per-hour current was too swift and the woman was swept away from the rescuer.
The responder then fell in the water and deftly swam in pursuit of the woman before ultimately grabbing a hold of her.
After the responder caught the woman, the two of them were safely lifted into the helicopter around 5:40pm.
The woman was flown to Dignity Health-Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where she was treated for minor injuries and hypothermia.
Rescuers had previously tried to help the woman by lowering a wooden ladder into the river, which the woman was able to hold on to for only a moment before being ripped away by the river
After the woman was swept away from the responder, he got in the water and swam after her
In a few moments, he was able to grab a hold of the distressed woman and arrest her progress down the river
At this time, it is not known how the woman ended up in the river.
At one point during her terrifying journey down the river, the woman was reportedly able to stand up for a brief moment before being battered back down by the river.
Firefighters had also attempted to rescue the woman by lowering a 24-foot wooden ladder into the river, which she was able to hold on to for a few moments until the river swept her away.
After her rescue, the woman assured firefighters that no other humans or animals were endangered during the incident.