TULSA, Okla. — Captain Matt Bell tends to find himself on the front lines of tragedy.
Most recently, his team responded to hurricanes Helene and Milton. Bell started participating in swift-water rescue missions in 1999.
“I got into it at a very young age. I kind of had a passion for the water,” Bell said.
Safe to say he’s seen his share of tragedy, but this time, he’s watching from afar as crews work tirelessly to recover bodies from the Potomac River in the wake of the crash of American Airlines flight 5342.
Wells said in mass casualty events like that, there’s some controlled chaos.
“We’re trying to find out the location. Where is the incident at? How many victims or how many people were involved in the incident? You know, what happened in the incident, we’re trying to look at resources, to respond to that incident, to meet the needs of that incident,” Bell said.
The cold temperatures of the Potomac add to the challenge. Currently, the water is near freezing, requiring rescue teams to wear dry suits to keep them warm and safe.
“Without those, obviously, they’re gonna get exposed really quick, get hypothermic, which leads to more issues with managing that incident,” Bell said.
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This, all while navigating sometimes choppy waters in small, inflatable vessels weighing just 400 pounds.
“Our team, they have to be in very good shape. And be very mission-ready,” Bell said.
As of Thursday evening, crews had recovered about 30 bodies in the Potomac. Their work is ongoing.
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