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The three-member crew was clearing trees and brush from the river when their boat got snagged at the top of the Dundee Dam, which has a 20-foot drop to a lower section of the river below.
Firefighters from Clifton, Garfield and Elmwood Park put boats into the river to rescue the trio.
At some point, the Clifton boat began to tip over the side of the falls. A firefighter jumped out while two of his colleagues rode the boat down.
WATCH:
Additional craft were called to assist, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified and a dive team was placed on standby.
The construction workers were brought to safety, along with the firefighter who’d jumped.
The two who went over the falls were then handled by the State Police helicopter, which lowered a rescuer to pluck them from the river one at a time as crowds of emergency responders and civilians looked on.
The firefighters were then brought to ambulances at nearby Nash Park.
New Jersey State Police Lt. Rick Villa, Sgt. First Class Jason Jorgensen, Sgt. Andrew Stephanic, Trooper I Stephen Brown and flight nurse Burke Barnett of Aviation North, along with Trooper II Shamik Songui of T.E.A.M.S. North, handled the rescue.
The smashed boat remained at the bottom of the falls, at least temporarily.
ALL PHOTOS BY BOYD A. LOVING
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