Five boaters rescued from tide

HULL, Mass., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Five boaters and one firefighter were rescued from a rising tide that threatened to suck them into a culvert on the Massachusetts coast.

The harrowing 45-minute rescue occurred Sunday as the Weir River approached high tide at a treacherous culvert beneath the Route 228 bridge, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

Four kayakers and a man rowing a dory were in the water and pinned against the bridge when Hull firefighter John King, became trapped with them during the rescue, The Globe reported.

Two more firefighters entered the water and held the boaters in an attempt to prevent them from being pulled into the culvert and eventually all were rescued and treated at local hospitals, The Globe reported.

Carlton Alan Chambers, a 66-year-old retired firefighter, managed to take several photographs which show how fast the tide was rising, The Globe reported.

"When I started taking those pictures, we didn't know who was dead and who was alive," Chambers said.