An alligator is seen swimming close as dramatic video shows a Florida paraglider swoop in to assist in the rescue of a woman who is clinging to the top of her waterlogged vehicle in a canal.
The alligator was spotted by Miami real estate agent Cristiano Piquet on Sunday morning as he was flying his motorised rig above the river close to Homestead, according to the Miami Herald.
“I turned around to get a shot of the alligator, and I saw a car under the water. I flew closer to the car and I saw a woman on top,” the 40-year-old man told the newspaper.
His GoPro camera shows Piquet landing in a nearby field and running over to the woman.
“You need help?” he shouts.
“Oh my God! I fell with my car in here,” she replies in anguish as she holds onto to the partially submerged yellow car.
.@CristianoPiquet made an emergency landing and with the help of two other people, was able to rescue her. This is an amazing story, and interesting turn on how a hobby might end up saving a life. Thank you to @CristianoPiquet and the other people for this heroic act. #ONLYinDADE pic.twitter.com/IzpDtkMnK2
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) October 31, 2022
Piquet, who was flying with a friend, told the Herald that he received assistance from a local homeowner who helped pull the woman to safety using a rope.
He told WSVN, “So we threw her a rope, and she was free, she was alive.” Everything happened so quickly, and as soon as we had her in a safe place, we dialled 911.
“My friend, land and save that one life,” the recreational pilot reportedly heard God say to him, according to NBC Miami. We touched down amid rocky ground and electricity cables. A catastrophic landing situation existed. I had a strange sense of peace.
He also captured the touching embrace between the woman and her saviour across the canal.
According to the newspaper, six Miami-Dade Fire Department units arrived on the site close to the 20400 block of Southwest 192nd Street shortly after that at 8:35 a.m.
The unidentified woman was taken to the hospital by emergency personnel after they conducted a thorough check of the area to ensure nobody else was in the water.
According to officials, she received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine the accident’s cause.
Piquet said he was happy to have missed church to help save the woman’s life.
“For some reason I was better suited being there at the right place and the right time,” he told the Herald.
“God cares about her life because he put me in that moment, that perfect moment, on that day,” Piquet told NBC Miami. “Maybe I would have flown somewhere else.”
