By Suzanne Stratford | Contributed by Annette Lawless
ELYRIA, Ohio — Firefighters performed a daring rescue Tuesday afternoon around 2:30pm to save four young men who became stranded while swimming in a restricted area.
The men, all in their early 20’s, were attempting to swim across Mussey Quarry in Elyria, near Mussey Ave. and West River Road.
Elyria Fire Chief Richard Benton said, one of the men became extremely exhausted and couldn’t make it across the very wide quarry which is more than a football in width and believed to be at least 100 feet deep.
Amir Elkhatib, 21, was helped to the side of the quarry by his three other friends, but then were too tired to climb up the 30-ft cliff that surrounds the quarry.
Benton said the quarry is hidden from plain view about 150 yards from the nearest road and surrounded by thick brush and trees, no trespassing signs and a fence, but somehow someone saw the men and called for help.
“Our rope rescue team,” Benton said. “We rappelled our firefighters down to them and stabilized them, got water, Gatorade, blankets and once we got them stable we started bringing them up one at a time with a rope pull system.”
The maneuver involved 15 specially trained firefighters, and another dozen had to be called in to work to cover all of the cities other possible emergencies.
Elkhatib was transported to Elyria Memorial and then life-flighted to MetroHealth Medical Center for observation. The others were treated at the scene.
“Just dehydration and exhaustion and panic on the swimmers part,” Benton said.
They were all also ticketed for trespassing by Elyria Police.
Benton hopes this close call is a lesson to all other young people who want to swim at the quarry.
“Hopefully people will start paying attention and stay out of these high hazard areas,” he said.
