A man who jumped in was rescued from the Sweetwater River in National City Tuesday, San Diego Lifeguards confirmed.
Around 1:35 p.m., officials received a call reporting a man in the middle of the river, likely in distress. Authorities with the National City Police Department and National City Fire Department rushed to the area at West 33rd Street and Hoover Avenue to investigate the reports.
"I saw a person getting into the water and all of a sudden he jumped in so as I approached I told him 'hey get out of the water, it's cold' and he just laughed and continued his swimming, and then the paramedics and the firefighters came in," witness Martin Guerrero told NBC 7.
Rescuers put on wetsuits and attempted to persuade the man to come towards them, but he refused saying he was distraught and wanted to harm himself. Rescuers were eventually able to pull the man onto the rocks by approximately 2:40 p.m.
"The water is about 60 degrees right now give or take two degrees," Segio Mora of National CIty Fire explained. "If they are submerged for any length of time the body gets very cold --we call that hypothermia. That is a life-threatening condition. His core temperature was somewhat low. That is why he was transported."
Shivering and covered with blankets, the man was taken to the hospital. He is expected to be all right.
