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Rescuers pulled three stranded jet-skiers from Utah Lake on Friday morning after searchers spotted the overdue trio from a helicopter.
Forty-eight-year-old Guadalupe Veloz said he and two friends had gone out on the watercraft on Thursday evening. Then, one of his two jet skis started taking on water.
"We had two but one got broke and the other guy was two people on one, so he tried to give me a ride," Veloz said. "He told me to hop on it, which I did, but we turned over."
Utah County Sheriff's Sergeant Spencer Cannon said the group soon realized they were stranded.
"Once they realized they were in trouble, they stayed together," Cannon said. "They lashed the jet skis together so that they had something to float on and stay with."
None of three was wearing a life jacket. Cannon said that made a bad situation much more dangerous.
"In my experience in doing this, I've only been involved in one situation where a person drowned wearing a life jacket and many many others where people have drowned and did not have a life jacket."
The search had actually started shortly after midnight. However, the darkness hampered efforts. It wasn't until daylight that the helicopter crew was able to see the group bobbing in the water. A Utah State Parks boat pulled Veloz, 49-year-old Laticia Hernandez and her husband, 45-year-old Angel Hernandez, out of the water.
Veloz said he wasn't worried throughout the ordeal.
"I talked to my wife before I go in so I kind I kind of feel that she gonna call 911, which she did," he said
All three were were treated for hypothermia. Cannon said the average lake temperature is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Cannon said the body cools 24 times faster in water than it does air.
"These folks are very lucky. They are lucky that it was good weather. If it was bad weather, windy at all, it could have been a different turn out." Cannon said. "We're fortunate to have the outcome that we did."
Brianna is a reporter and weekend anchor for KSL News Radio. Contact her at: bbodily@ksl.com
