Good Samaritans rescue 89-year-old man from rubble in Fort Myers Beach

(WSVN) – A race to rescue in Fort Myers Beach after an elderly man was discovered under a pile of debris.

One of the people who jumped into action to help save his life spoke out to share his story.

A video showed a group of men pulling out Jim Gresh, 89, from debris in Fort Myers Beach.

“From what I’m hearing, he was in that house for the hurricane, so, pretty scary, yeah,” said James Cox.

Cox was one of the men in the video that helped the man.

He said he was walking on the beach with a friend when he heard a voice. Shortly after, it became a rescue mission.

“So we start walking up the rubble and we were asking him, ‘Hey man, do you need help?’ and he’s like, “I don’t know, I don’t know if I need help,” and we ask how long have you been here and he said Ian,” recalled Cox.

He and his friend quickly went to get help; they used debris in the area to make a makeshift gurney to get him out.

“Five of us that, you know, were able to pick him up on the rack, and he was obviously, still knowing, he was scared that he would fall off the rack,” said Cox. “I was like, ‘Hey, don’t worry, we have you. We’re gonna get you down to the ground and let the doctor look at you and see what we can do.’”

Coastguards were able to airlift the Gresh to safety and he is expected to be OK.

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