More information on the rescue effort has been released by a brave Coast Guard member who assisted in saving over 200 children from Camp Mystic during the devastating Texas floods.
Up to 91 people have now been confirmed d**d in the disaster, and others are still unaccounted for, as the lone star state has been devastated by the recent deluge.
The Guadalupe River rose quickly as a result of torrential rain, causing severe floods that have caused a large loss of life and property throughout Texas.
Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls on the river in Kerr County, was among the hardest-hit locations. Late last week, the camp issued a sorrowful statement.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,” the organisation wrote, adding, “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level.”
Ten more campers and one counsellor are believed to be missing as of this writing, while CNN reports that 27 campers and counsellors lost their lives in the floods.
But without the heroic efforts of 26-year-old Coast Guard Scott Ruskan, who assisted in organising the evacuation of 165 individuals from the camp last Friday, July 5, things would have turned out far worse.
The New Jersey native talked more about the catastrophe and how he was able to save so many lives in a stirring interview with Good Morning America.
On Monday, he said, “I just happened to be on the duty crew. We decided to leave me on scene at Camp Mystic. That was kind of our main triage site we were trying to help out with.”
“I discovered I was the only person there as far as first responders go. So I had about 200, kids mostly. All scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their life. And I just kind of needed to triage them, get them to a higher level of care and get ’em off the flood zone.”
“We came up with two different landing zones. There was one off an archery field and then one in a soccer field. We were able to kind of land those 60s [rescue helicopters] in there. I was the main guy as far as grabbing people.”
Scott’s ability to protect the children amid the terrible floods was made possible by the extensive training that Coast Guard rescue swimmers get.
“Coast Guard rescue swimmers get some of the highest level training in the world. So really I relied on that, knowing that any of the rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard would have done the exact same if not better than me,” he said.
And he praised the children who realised he was there to assist them, saying they were the’real heroes’.
Scott added, “They don’t really know what my experience is or my rank or my age. They just know, ‘Hey this guy is a professional, and he’s here to help us.’ And I had to live up to that standard.”
“The real heroes, I think, were the kids on the ground. Those guys are heroic, and they were dealing with some of the worst times of their lives, and they were staying strong. That helped inspire me to get in there and help them out.”
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