SEATTLE — A man under distress was pulled from Lake Union Sunday afternoon by a team of rescue swimmers.
The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) said in a social media post on X just after 2 p.m. that crews received a call about a swimmer in Lake Union near the 1000 block of Valley Street who went underwater and did not resurface.
Three rescue swimmers went into the water, found the 30-year-old male and brought him to shore, the SFD said in the post. The man reportedly jumped off a pedestrian bridge near the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI).
Emergency crews started performing life-saving measures and took the man to Harborview Medical Center. Fire officials said the man is in critical condition.
Kaila Lafferty, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department, stressed the importance of wearing a lifejacket when swimming.
"You might think, 'I'm an adult, I don't need to wear a lifejacket. I know how to swim,'" Lafferty said. "But when you're going in somewhere like Lake Union, that water is really cold."
Lafferty said the water at Lake Union reached 64 degrees Sunday afternoon. While that may not seem cold, she said, swimming in those temperatures can still be dangerous.
"When you’re thinking about the weather 64 (degrees) is not that cold but when you’re thinking about water 64 (degrees) is very cold," Lafferty said. "Your body is on average 98 degrees. That can affect your body really quickly. It can cause your muscles to seize up. It can cause you to go into hypothermia. It happens a lot faster than you might realize.”
According to the SFD, officials recommend swimming where lifeguards are present and not drinking alcohol prior to entering the water.