Police Officer Rescues Woman From Sinking BMW Just Seconds Before It Becomes Fully Submerged [Video]

A woman from New Zealand is lucky to be alive after she had a close encounter in her BMW. The woman was in her vehicle when the it drove off a rock wall into the Waitemata Harbour around 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The car began to quickly submerge, as bystanders rushed to the water to try and help. Fortunately, two police officers arrived to the scene shortly after the incident and jumped into the water to save the woman. One officer was able to use a large rock to break the back windshield to release the woman. The close encounter was captured on camera as the police worked swiftly to rescue the woman.

In the video above by the Daily Mail, you can see the frightening images of the woman as she wedged herself into the far corner of her backseat, tapping into the air pocket that formed along the rear window. The woman can be seen holding tightly onto the headrest of a rear seat as a police officer smashes through the glass with a large rock. The woman is immediately pulled from the car, which was fully submerged less than a minute later.

The New Zealand Herald reports that police officers Paul Watts and Simon Russell were called to the scene of the accident and found the car about three-fourths the way submerged in the water. The pair quickly made their way into the water to attempt to release the woman from the vehicle. The report indicates that three bystanders, including a local fisherman, were attempting to hold the car above the water when the police arrived. It was noted that the men initially tried to open the doors, but they would not budge; therefore, the group rushed to hold the car up in an attempt to keep it from sinking until rescue could arrive.

Officer Russell says that the officers first tried to use their batons to break the window, to no avail.

“When we entered the water, I was talking to one of the (members of the public) who wad trying to balance the vehicle and he said he was looking for a rock to try and smash the window. I tried my baton which failed and then I tried looking on the ocean floor and when I went down I actually cut my hand.”

The officers say the rescue cut it “pretty close.”

“It was pretty close, probably 30 or 40 seconds after we managed to get the female out of the car, the car was already slipping further into the water. I’d say she’d probably only had maximum probably another minute, minute-and-a-half if she hadn’t got out.”