Brian Stone

Coast Guard rescue swimmer rescues 16 people 140 miles off the coast of Baja California in pitch-black darkness while getting tossed by 8-foot waves. 24-year-old Josh Law is credited with the heroic rescue. At 1 a.m., a call came in at the US Coast Guard Air Station in Ventura, California, from a boat sinking in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico. The Coast Guard crew geared up and jumped into the helicopter before making the long trek to the boat. The boat had capsized about 140 miles off the coast and threw more than two dozen people into cold water. When the crew finally located the wreckage, they lowered Law by cable from the helicopter into the water. He was the only rescuer in the cold water for 2 hours. Law was in pitch darkness with no moonlight, in 6- to 8-foot waves, rotor spray and turbulence, and hypothermic water. "I was experiencing exhaustion at that point... what I was experiencing was nothing compared to what they were at that point," Law said. "With one hand, I’m holding the survivor. With the other, I am signaling to the helicopter and working with the device," he said. He did this to rescue 16 survivors, placing them in the basket one by one before hoisting them up to the helicopter. With fuel running low, the crew raced to the Coast Guard station in San Diego, California, which is about 160 miles south of the Ventura station. Law said he treated the survivors during the flight. Some had injuries consistent with shark bites. All 16 were Mexicans, and the ones with injuries were treated when they got to shore. About half have since returned to Mexico. Eleven people on the boat were never found, but thanks to Law and the rest of the crew, 16 lives were saved. Beast.