Man rescued from raging waters in Los Angeles River in dramatic helicopter operation

A man who was swept into the rushing waters of the Los Angeles River was dramatically rescued by a heroic first responder who was suspended from a helicopter. The rescue was captured on video, which shows the man desperately clinging to a wall before being saved.

On Wednesday around 5 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department received a report about a person in distress in the rain-swollen river located south of Washington Boulevard in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Ground and air crews were dispatched to respond to the emergency.

The man was seen in aerial footage clinging onto a concrete wall as a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department was lowered on a cable from a helicopter to rescue him from the swollen Los Angeles River.

The man was stranded in muddy waters that were churning around him, caused by the recent rainstorms that had drenched parts of California and resulted in swollen rivers.

Despite the challenges, the rescuer eventually reaches the stranded man and secures him to the cable before both are lifted to safety by the hovering helicopter.