LA deputies caught on camera racing into foggy ocean to rescue disoriented paragliders
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In a dramatic rescue caught on camera, two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies saved a pair of paragliders from drowning after they plummeted into the fog-shrouded ocean near Malibu on Friday.

Bodycam footage captured the deputies’ swift response as they rushed to the scene upon receiving an emergency call about two individuals in distress. The deputies can be heard urging the paragliders to “Hang on!” amid the chaos.

According to a statement from the LA County Sheriff’s Department, Deputies Matkin and Grigoryan, undeterred by the perilous conditions, promptly shed their department-issued gear and plunged into the water to execute the rescue.

The deputies swam approximately 75 feet to reach a man and woman who were being dragged down by their tangled safety gear. Demonstrating quick thinking, the deputies used their knives to free the paragliders from the entrapment.

Deputies racing toward ocean

In this bold act of heroism, the deputies successfully rescued the two paragliders from the ocean near Malibu, capturing the attention of local media outlets such as FOX 11.

Deputy Christopher Matkin called the rescue “tense,” explaining that the frantic paragliders kept pulling them under in their panic.

“We were able to calm them down,” he added at a press conference.

Deputy Sevak Grigoryan said that they didn’t have much time to think.

Deputy Grigoryan

LA County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Sevak Grigoryan discusses the rescue he and a fellow officer made off a beach in Malibu. (FOX 11)

“It was just, ‘We gotta act and we gotta to act now,” he said. 

The department said the paragliders’ ill-fated trip likely happened as they descended and ran into the ocean’s fog bank.

“And that’s where it appears they became disoriented and crashed into the ocean,” a third deputy said.

Deputy Matkin

Deputy Christopher Matkin called the rescue “tense.”  (FOX 11)

Both paragliders are expected to fully recover.

“This rescue demonstrates the courage, quick thinking, and selfless dedication of LASD deputies, who routinely place themselves in harm’s way to protect and save lives,” the department said. 

“Deputies Matkin and Grigoryan’s decisive actions under dangerous conditions exemplify the Sheriff’s Department’s commitment to public safety and service to the community.” 

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