A New York City man was forced to tread water for hours as he was pulled by currents for about 5 miles — from Queens all the way to New Jersey.
Pete Ordane, 34, was finally spotted by a commercial fisherman and his son in the water about 2 miles off Sandy Hook in the Garden State around 9 a.m. Monday, the Middletown Township Police Department explained.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Ordane, who cops are describing as a swimmer, went into the water. But he told the authorities that he most likely entered the ocean around Breezy Point in the Big Apple and was subsequently pulled by the tide to the coast of New Jersey.
The tips of Sandy Hook and Breezy Point are about 5 miles apart by water.
The boaters who saw Ordane in the water brought him on board and transported him to the Monmouth Cove Marina in Port Monmouth, NJ, the report said.
Despite his ordeal, Ordane was found to be in “good condition” and was released after refusing further medical treatment, the Middletown Township Police said.
He was given a dry set of clothes and some food before he arranged transportation from the area.
The authorities commended the fisherman and his son – who chose to remain anonymous – for “undoubtedly saving” the man’s life.
The miraculous rescue came just a couple weeks after two teenage girls drowned off Coney Island.
The 17- and 18-year-old vanished in the water around 8:10 p.m. near Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn. Their bodies were found on the shoreline about an hour later.
