NASSAU - Two boaters on Saturday sat stranded atop a large rock above the roaring Kinderhook Creek before emergency crews saved them.
Both of the men climbed the rock after their small boat got damaged and capsized in the creek, which was still moving quickly as a result of a record-setting rainstorm on Wednesday, according to Dominic Pasinella Jr., deputy chief of the Melrose Fire Department.
"They were sharing the rock, but the water was just crushing them around it," Pasinella said. "They couldn't move two inches or they would have been under."
His agency was among several rescue crews, including Poestenkill and Stephentown, that showed up to a mutual aid call in the Tsatsawassa Fire District at 3:19 p.m. Firefighters were sent to an area closest to the corner of state Route 66 and U.S. Route 20.
According to Pasinella, the boat had only journeyed about a quarter of a mile before it was damaged. Only one of the stranded men had a cell phone to call for help, he said.
The men set out days after torrential rain fell on the region, dropping nearly a foot of rain in neighboring Schodack and damaging roads and buildings. A man died in Sullivan County after his pickup ended up in a creek.
"Obviously, they got 10 inches of rain the other day and the creek was really pushing hard so once they capsized, they realized that they were in trouble," Pasinella said.
It took crews about two hours to cut down trees and move equipment through thick brush to get to the site, according to Pasinella. At the scene, rescuers set up a shore-based rope system. They eventually got both men out with an inflatable rescue watercraft at 5:57 p.m.
The men were evaluated by emergency medical crews, Tsatsawassa Fire District noted in a news release. No injuries were reported.
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This article originally published at Men rescued after boat capsizes in raging Kinderhook Creek.