ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — Members of the St. Augustine Police Department, St. Johns County Fire and Rescue and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked to free a stranded manatee in St. Augustine on Wednesday afternoon.
Those oyster beds are sharp. I watched as more than one rescuer fell in the mud... and cringed... I think I saw with Ofc Yarborough fell and shook off the pain in his hand to continue helping. Well done. @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/Tfhk62LFhk
— John Bachman (@BachmanANjax) June 5, 2019
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Sky Action News Jax captured the tense moments leading up to the rescue, in which the manatee can be seen lying upside down on jagged oyster beds at San Marco and Ocean avenues with much of its body above the surface.
The manatee was left stranded in the oyster flats by a dropping tide.
Rescue crews waded into the shallow water with rubber boots and a special harness to rescue the aquatic mammal.
The group of at least eight workers was able to slide the stretcher-like harness under the manatee and float it to deeper water, where it swam off on its own power.
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