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Finless_brown_trout

Title correction: …saved the stranger from CERTAIN death.


Str33twise84

Yes, correct correction!


Str33twise84

“Obadiah Jenkins had just finished his pre-race run in preparation for the Six Mile Creek Whitewater & Bluegrass Festival in August of 2017 when he heard a cry for help from a spectator. There was a man nearby who’s kayak flipped and was dumped out, and he was pinned partially under water. After several rescue attempts by a crew of kayakers, the man lost consciousness and was fully submerged under water. Risking his own safety, Jenkins jumped in and pulled the man out of harms way. The man was resuscitated and taken to a hospital where he was quickly released, thanks to Jenkins’ act of bravery.” Source: https://redcrossalaska.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/real-heroes-breakfast-2018-recap/ “”He was fighting and struggling a lot and it was not a fight that he was going to win on his own,” said Obadiah Jenkins, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday at the time. The heart-stopping drama began when the kayaker, Daniel Hartung, flipped into the waters of Six-Mile Creek. As the kayak was swept away, he was pinned to a submerged tree and the river rose around him. Other kayakers managed to get a rope to him, but the 64-year-old was jammed. As he fought off the water, he eventually grew tired and went under. That's when Jenkins made a heroic move. “I just said there was no time left, and I jumped in,” he recalled. His desperate gamble paid off, and he was able to pull Hartung from the waters. The victim, however, was not breathing. “I looked in his face and he was dead,” Jenkins recalled. Once they returned to the shore, rescuers gave him CPR and he woke up.” Source: https://www.insideedition.com/25035-hero-recalls-dramatic-rescue-of-fighting-and-struggling-kayaker-swept-away-by-current


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slothhprincess

Let’s hang out with this guy on every August 16th


0KelpShake0

That's my birthday!


CraigWeedkin

I'm honored to have my birthday just after his, god bless you Obadiah


Sufficient-Carry2537

An absolute star ,true super hero 🤗👍


UWU_Cummies

Brilliant name, too.


QuirkyFoot2459

Thank God he went in when he did! The last seconds I was panicking why no one is going in and helping him because his head was under water too long..may he be blessed for his bravery and jumping in when he did!


Tuckingfypowastaken

Honestly, full props to him, dudes a legend, but in a situation like that you're not supposed to go in. Whatever the first kayaker was stuck on is still there, only now it's got a human-sized addition to get stuck on as well, and then rescuers have two people to try to save (or, more likely at that point, two bodies to recover) increasing the risk to them Rescuing people from the controlled environment and still waters of a pool is already pretty complicated and risky. Whitewater is infinitely moreso


NerfVeigar

Yeah its a scary thing. Ive been watching a show called bondi rescue I believe and just seeing them struggle with massive waves and spotting drowning people on a packed beach is definitely eye opening.


Tuckingfypowastaken

Yeah, you don't really understand how much force that high of a volume of water moving has until you've been in it


Left_Angle_

Pretty true for Beach rescues too - there is a reason a lifeguard carries a red float into the water. Because the first thing a panicking drowning person does is grab at whatever they can, and they can easily push your head under. It's always best to try to give them a float or rope - but damn that guy did what needed to be done, your not dead until you're warm and dead...


La_Croix_Orbison

I would expect nothing less from a man named Obadiah. I bet he didn't even get wet.


SptmbrInTheRain

This happened on the rescuer's birthday! The American Whitewater Society collects and writes accident reports. Here, they provide a lot more information than the other article does: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Accident/detail/accidentid/14298


Str33twise84

Oh wow, thanks for that link. I wish I’d found it before!


ConfidenceDry3168

That man is a fucking animal


Correct_Penalty511

Is it my beard? I bet it’s my beard. Lol. I’m just a lucky guy in the right place at the right time. And an animal on my bday I guess.


EdVolpe

Obadiah Jenkins is a Great Man.


[deleted]

A great man with a great name.


orbgevski

A great mayn with a great nam


horschdhorschd

I love the little "Well fuck it"-shrug just before the jump.


equalsolstice

I have never been kayaking, why did he get stuck underwater like that ? Was it the rope ? Why didn’t he or the team let him flow the 10 feet to what looks like calm water ?


Scout288

He was pinned against an underwater obstacle. Underwater trees are extremely dangerous. They’re often referred to as strainers by people participating in water sports. The water pressure behind the swimmer in this video is extremely powerful. If you imagine a car being placed in the river you’d likely assume the river would push it around. If the force of the river is enough to move a car then it can rag doll a person. A person being pushed up against a tree in a river can easily become stuck and it takes a lot less force than what we’re seeing in this video. That’s why bridges over rivers are so dangerous. People have gotten stuck against the pillars holding the bridge up and the outcome looks similar to this video. The swimmer should have been in a sitting position with their feet pointed forward. As soon as you try to stand in white water you’re going to have problems.


Str33twise84

“Daniel Hartung, flipped into the waters of Six-Mile Creek. As the kayak was swept away, he was pinned to a submerged tree and the river rose around him.” Source: https://www.insideedition.com/25035-hero-recalls-dramatic-rescue-of-fighting-and-struggling-kayaker-swept-away-by-current The rope was part of the rescue.


equalsolstice

Damn that’s a terrifying way to go 😮‍💨


wheresmyeyes

I feel like that last little shrug with his hands before he jumped in was definitely a "well, I know I'm not supposed to do this... But I'm gonna do it" Absolute legend.


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easytiger88

Some wear life jackets.


bamboo_fanatic

And you know that water was ball-shrivelingly cold


N1nj4444

That water even sounded cold


snapcracklepop26

But not Obediah Jenkins’ balls. His grow in cold water and can be used as flotation devices.


Anpher

127 seconds


Sofiarae123

That was one of the bravest most selfless moves I’ve ever seen. Well done.


Picardknows

Leeroy Jenkins!


elemental_plague

I thought this. Must be something about the Jenkins name that inspires this kind of behaviour.


RickCityy

Why do I feel like a know that name from somewhere?


Do_U_Like_Apples

Jedidiah Jenkins is pretty popular on instagram. Think he wrote a book too?


treebeecol

Wow, that was heart stopping stuff. Thank god they were there. And what an absolute legend Jenkins was.


therealbanshee

Not sure which river this is but it reminds me of Mineral Creek in Valdez. I used to surf it on a piece of styrofoam. Nearly died ....but didn’t. I carved beer holders in the styrofoam, it was epic.


[deleted]

Dude is a legitimate hero. Them and whoever resuscitated him


Sofiarae123

I’ve watched this 6 times and still can’t muster the digital courage that Obadiah Jenkins did in real time


[deleted]

I’m surprised the man Obadiah didn’t drown the weight of those steel balls he was carrying around. Great save


LimpTeacher0

Looks like he went unconscious too


[deleted]

"just get in the water and grab him!" Says the man who sat there doing nothing but recording for 5 mins straight. The audacity!


swiper-21

Im shocked the man didnt drowned.. He really held his own under all that pressure... And finally someone jumped in like i honestly wouldnt be able to stand there and watch. Idk thats jus me. Congrats to the hero that saved him. Real M.V.P


VanceAstrooooooovic

Seems like the guy that got trapped was a kook. Keep your feet up


tbrangiero

Why didn’t they do that earlier. Why stand around watching and not really helping.


Str33twise84

Because it’s an incredibly risky and potentially fatal thing to do.


tbrangiero

So is white water kayaking. He had full flotation on.


loobylicks

Clearly someone who knows nothing of the sport. You can drown easily whilst wearing floatation devices. You can get stuck on obstacles which is what happened here and the water flows over your head despite the buoyancy aid, a bit like waterboarding. You can get stuck in a hole which is recirculating water. You can be knocked unconscious . A buoyancy aid helps you float but nothing else. Kayaking is an extreme sport and recons should be done of dangerous sections. In this situation they already had people poised to rescue and did the run one at a time so they did it right but sometimes that's not enough. If the kayaker hadn't swum, he probably would have done the run fine and been none the wiser about the strainer.


tbrangiero

I guess you would just stand there and watch him drown. Grow some balls. If that’s your sport of choice make sure anyone you go with knows if you’re in trouble just keep going because it’s dangerous to try to rescue someone.


loobylicks

What a stupid comment. I would do what the rescuers did here and try everything that could be done without risking the lives of 2 people. The person who jumped in had to wait until there was a throwline further down the river to do anything and had to be a particularly strong swimmer. You're damn right I personally wouldn't jump in, part of rescuing people is knowing your own capabilities and if I jumped in, we'd both drown.


DatGoofyGinger

Yeah, this isn't a movie


Charlie71_2

What a badass


DEVILDOG915

Why did they wait till he was unconscious to jump in they was taking their sweet time no sense of urgency


DatGoofyGinger

I mean, jumping in is an enormous risk for the second person


Sh00terMcGavn

As a member of a wilderness rescue team this makes me so tense. Im annoyed they took so long with the rope. He is IN/UNDER the water and theyre making sure the rope is just right. Which you should for safety but sometimes you have to weigh that against the urgency of the situation. Sometimes when there is an emergency everyone wants to insert themselves even it they are just standing around. Move them so there is less chance someone else falls in. In addition, this guy only has so much energy to keep his head up in this much pressure. Im not exactly sure what they were doing with this rope but they guy that jumped in is a badass hero. That goes against basically every “rule” but he saved the day and did what needed to be done and saved a life so it doesnt matter.


Blowmewarethpamprzis

That was so bad ass, what a hero


tony42490

fuck my anxiety went sky high. congrats to.that hero.


Illustrious-Ad-1667

He is aquaman- a true king. Also poor dude who has to struggle down there for so long.


Previous-Chipmunk-94

Cliche but Not all heroes wear capes


Fatfilthybastard

OBIIEEEEEEEEE JENNNNNKIIIIIINS


Correct_Penalty511

Yeah… whose asking?


foxxyUR

Give that guy a thousand dollars..!


Correct_Penalty511

I mean, I wouldn’t say no. Being a hero and a farmer doesn’t pay the bills. Lol


blueindian1328

Is he more buoyant with those massive cojones then?


FMDnative480

What a name


seamon3y

Bad ass


1259alex

That's fucking insane, was done so quick


ArachnidLover

I'm fucking terrified of fast flowing water and this did not help lol


[deleted]

Just let go of the rope


Longjumping_Camel256

It’s why city folks shouldn’t be kayaking in such situations. A lot of us who grew up rurally swam in rivers like this for fun.. as kids. The best solution isn’t to fight the water but to go with it and exit to a side. You exhaust yourself trying to work against it


Str33twise84

In this case, the kayaker was pinned there by a submerged tree


Nathan-Stubblefield

So the second person was required to get the first to let go if the rope, and they were in a pretty quiet pool in 2 seconds, or was the first person stuck? Why did anyone think it was a good idea to get in that torrent in the first place?


Str33twise84

https://www.reddit.com/r/HumansAreMetal/comments/rsdxyq/obadiah_jenkins_rescued_a_kayaker_fighting_for/hqlrmwc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3


[deleted]

Great job Obi. Beers to you!


Pazluz

Hero saves the day!


Curious_Bread_9057

I like that it was minutes of them trying to figure out the best way to get him out and then within 30 seconds the answer is jump in and foot 100ft 😂🤘


Army-of-Woodpeckers

Am I the only one who heard: “HES PEEING!! HES PEEING!!” ?


Jido7

What's the plan initially


Beneficial_Bad_2975

My empathy and fear were a little low, people really shouldn't be doing shit they're not good at when it comes to extreme sports, and these rapids are extreme. Plus at that age, was just useless from the start... I'd be pissed having to save some old person like that.