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VIDEO: Father and son found clinging to cooler after boat sinks in Boston

When the officers approached the 28-foot boat named “Glory Days” they found it almost completely underwater

August 26, 2022 6:28pm

Updated: August 26, 2022 6:30pm

Officers found a father and son in the water clinging to a cooler after their boat sank in the Boston Harbor earlier this week.

Boston Police Harbor Unit officers responded to a call that a boat near the coast of Graves Light was sinking on Wednesday at around 6:35 p.m., the Boston Police Department said in a statement.

When the officers approached the 28-foot boat named “Glory Days” they found it almost completely underwater, except for the tip of the vessel.

Upon further examination of the site, they found "two men floating, holding on to a blue cooler.”

The father and son had been in the water for at least 10 to 20 minutes, reported The Boston Globe. The father, 76, was wearing a jacket, while his son, who is in his 30s, was not. However, he was holding on to a life ring.

"The men reported to the officers that they were weak and were having difficulty keeping their heads above water," police said in their statement.

"They were cold, they looked very tired and weak and were struggling to keep their head above the water," said Stephen Merrick, one of the officers who rescued the pair, according to NBC Boston.

Their rescue was captured by a police officer’s body camera. The two men were treated by the officers and later attended to by Boston EMS.

Police said in their statement that the two men were out catching lobsters and their boat’s engine got tangles in the lines and died.

"They may have tangled up on some lobster traps, which killed their engines, and either the current or the wind may have pushed them to the rocks," said Officer Garret Boyle, the other officer who helped save the day, according to NBC Boston