The search for John Aldridge in the Montauk area took eight hours

Jul 26, 2013 13:39 GMT  ·  By

A fisherman on a commercial lobster vessel has been found after falling overboard on Wednesday. He spent eight grueling hours in the Montauk area waters.

According to CBS New York, John Aldridge was swimming in shark-infested waters 43 miles off the coast of Long Island.

It took two large patrol boats, two helicopters, a plane, and help from volunteers to scour the area and locate Aldridge.

"It was pretty miraculous that we found him because this is rare," Petty Officer Erik Swanson of the New York Coast Guard tells the NY Daily News.

According to a statement by the Coast Guard, the mission included covering 660 square miles (1,709 square km) of water.

"The coordination between the vessels and the Coast Guard allowed them to cover an area of 660 square miles [1,709 square km], approximately the size of 378,000 American football fields," the coast guard said in a statement.

He survived having sharks circle him with the help of his rubber boots, which he allegedly used to stay afloat.

"Unfortunately many of these cases don't end with a happy ending. [...] With that many hours passed, it's hard to say with the currents and the temperature of the water," Swanson adds.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Jason Walter, heading the Montauk Station thanked collaborating agencies and anglers helping in the mission.

"The search and rescue coordination between the Coast Guard, its partner agencies and fishermen was exceptional. The fishing crews allowed us to search a much greater area. [...] To find this man in the water after this much time is amazing," he said in a press conference.

When an Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew eventually found Aldridge on Wednesday evening, they learned that he was not wearing a life jacket.

"He was fully responsive, he was just a little cold being in the water," Swanson says.