Page 5 - Aruba Today
P. 5
U.S. NEWS A5
Monday 22 February 2016
Search continues after small plane crash off Long Island
MICHAEL BALSAMO Suffolk County Police Officer Matthew Merced, center, recounts news conference at the
VERENA DOBNIK how he and fellow officers helped rescue three men from a scene Sunday afternoon
Associated Press downed aircraft during a news conference, Sunday, Feb. 21, The three were treated and
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. (AP) 2016, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. The single engine craft crashed into released at Stony Brook
— Fighting frigid water Port Jefferson Harbor on Saturday night. University Hospital.
temperatures and racing The fourth, Gerson Salmon-
against the clock, officers (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo) Negron, 23, of Queens, re-
grabbed anything they mained missing on Sunday.
could to try to rescue three pilot, Austricio Ramirez of ing behind me . we don’t “It is an active search and
men who were aboard the Bronx, was flying at think the three individuals rescue operation,” Sini
a small plane that crash- the time the plane ran would have survived,” Suf- said.
landed in the Long Island into engine trouble and folk County Police Com- “This is a tough situation,
Sound, less than a mile off he turned controls over missioner Tim Sini said at a but we haven’t given up
the New York shoreline. The to the 36-year-old instruc- trying to locate this per-
search continued Sunday tor pilot, Nelson Gomez, son.”
for one person who was still of Queens. All four men Coast Guard officials said
missing. exited the plane into the the search for Salmon-Ne-
It was around 11 p.m. Sat- water. Ramirez, Gomez, gron went on for 18 hours
urday when the Piper PA- and a third person, Wady through the night, cover-
28 landed in Port Jefferson Perez, 25, of Queens, were ing 90 square miles before
Harbor, about 60 miles east rescued by Suffolk County the agency pulled its per-
of New York City, authori- police. sonnel from the search just
ties said. It was pitch black One of the men was wear- after 10 a.m. Two police
when officers responding ing a lifejacket and was department boats and
to a 911 call made their losing consciousness when a dive team continued
ways to the shoreline. officers reached him, po- searching the harbor Sun-
“When we came up, we lice said. An officer used his day afternoon.q
heard them yelling,” said duty belt to hold another
Suffolk County Police Offi- afloat atop a kayak and
cer Matthew Merced, who the third made it nearly to
helped rescue the men. the shoreline when an offi-
“We decided the only way cer threw him an inflatable
we could get to them is to ring to grab ahold of.
take the kayaks out there “If it weren’t for the bold
and see if we could sup- actions of the Suffolk Coun-
port them so they could ty police officers stand-
survive.”
And that’s what they
did. The officers com-
mandeered kayaks from
houses along the shore
and began paddling out
into the harbor, using their
flashlights to guide them
toward the voices crying
for help.
Four people were aboard
the plane. Three made it to
the shore.
The 25-year-old student
Mom: Police did not let me speak
to my son during deadly standoff
JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) Safety spokesman Warren
— The mother of a man Strain said the officers are
who shot four Mississippi trained, and their first goal
state troopers and was is keeping people alive.
killed by police says police, He did not immediately
who spent six hours negoti- respond to emailed and
ating with her son, refused phoned queries Sunday by
to let her talk to him. The Associated Press.
Katherine Hudson of Iuka He said Saturday that offi-
tells The Northeast Missis- cers had exhausted nego-
sippi Daily Journal that tiations when they stormed
she thinks family members the house early Saturday
could have convinced near Iuka, in northern Mis-
Charles Lee Lambert to sissippi. One officer died
leave without bloodshed if and three others were
they’d been allowed into wounded in the shootout
his house. that followed.q
Department of Public
