A Seattle police dive team pulled a woman from choppy waters in Lake Washington Sunday evening after her 21-foot catamaran flipped in high winds.
Harbor Officers Chuck Farrell and David Leonard arrived within a minute and found the boat still on its side and two men in the water. The victims were yelling that a third person hadn’t surfaced yet and was trapped under the boat. The officers then found a 25-year-old woman under the boat. She was unconscious and had been under water for almost six minutes. Officer Leonard immediately began CPR as Officer Farrell radioed for Seattle Fire Department medics to meet them at the dock. Medics transported the woman to the hospital for further treatment.
The two men said high winds had flipped their boat, and sent all three passengers–who were wearing life-preservers–into the lake. The 25-year-old may have become trapped under the boat when a rigging wrapped around her leg.
In a second incident earlier Sunday, Harbor Patrol officers also rescued another boater in Lake Washington near Sand Point when his sailboat capsized around 12:30 PM.
Witnesses called 911 when they saw the white sailboat flip, knocking its lone occupant into the water.
Officers arrived and pulled the uninjured man from the lake. They then towed the boat to the shallows, pumped out the water, and towed the boat to O.O. Denny Park in Kirkland.