Men rescued after falling through ice in Worcester pond

WORCESTER, Mass. — Two men were rescued on Saturday morning after falling through the ice on a pond in Worcester.

Thankfully, two neighbors on Lake Avenue heard their cries for help and raced out to the pond.

John Barber was doing some work in his apartment when he heard the cries for help on Lake Quinsigamond.

Barber then grabbed his kayak and some rope and sprinted to the aid of the two, middle-aged men, who were about 100 feet from the shore.

However, upon attempting to reel them out of the water, Barber realized he couldn't help them on his own.

"I had no grip, they were just pulling me as I was trying to pull them," said Barber.

He then ran inside, grabbed a pair of microspikes, called out for a neighbor and then tied the men to a rope. He and his neighbor pulled the men out of frigid waters just as rescue crews arrived.

"They were very cold, I mean, they were still functioning, weren't in shock at any point, but very cold and they were older so they weren't able to help themselves out of the water very easily, so it made it a little more difficult, but once one of the guys was able to get his foot I was able to grab that," Barber said.

Both men endured extremely low temperatures, but appeared to be okay.

Barber says he's happy he could be there to help, but is surprised the men went out on the ice in the first place.

"This just froze over recently, so playing hockey on it you know maybe is not the best choice, but I don't know, it's good to get some activity when you're a little older, but maybe not playing ice hockey on a newly frozen pond," Barber said.

Cox Media Group