CBS 2 Exclusive Video: Couple Rescued From Jet Ski After 9 Hours

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) --  A couple out for a nighttime joy ride on the water wound up having a nightmare of a time after their watercraft died, leaving them stranded for hours.

CBS 2 exclusively obtained the amazing water rescue that was all caught on video.

The two 26-year-olds launched their Jet Ski into Jamaica Bay in the Rockaways at around 9:30 Monday night, CBS 2's Elise Finch reported.

Shortly after setting out into the open water, their Jet Ski died and drifted near Big Egg Marsh where the couple spent the entire night waiting to be rescued.

"Their friend reported them missing at around 12:30 at night and that's what started all the searching," said David Console, with the NYPD Harbor Unit.

The couple was reported missing three hours into their nighttime joy ride, but it took emergency crews another six hours to find them because their watercraft had no running lights, Finch reported.

The couple had no cell phone, flares, or other signally devices. All they could do was sit on the sinking Jet Ski and wait to be rescued from the marsh.

Even the marsh itself offered no help in their rescue.

"It's a small, small island-type marsh with large grass, but it's sharp over there so they couldn't walk on it," explained Andrew Novellano, with the NYPD Harbor Unit.

"The island is full of these reeds that are very sharp. They're almost like razor blades so they couldn't even stand on them," added George Delejianis, also with the NYPD Harbor Unit.

At 6:30 a.m., nine hours after they entered the water, the couple was rescued by harbor police.

"They were hypothermic. They were shivering. They were cold. They were a bit shaken. Once they saw us they were pretty happy, and then especially once they were back on land they were ecstatic," said Console.

Both were taken to Saint John's Hospital, where they were treated for hypothermia and released.

Police said even though they violated numerous ordinances regarding personal watercraft, they weren't issued any summonses due to the ordeal they went through.

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