3 Men Saved a Woman and Her Dog From Drowning in Baton Rouge Flood

Three men in Baton Rouge made a successful heroic effort to rescue a woman and her dog from a sinking car.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

A dramatic video emerged on Saturday from Baton Rouge, La., which has been beset by flooding. It shows three men rescuing a woman—and her adorable dog—from a sinking convertible. The footage was first posted by WAFB, a CBS affiliate. CBS News later discovered that the rescuer who actually jumped into the flood waters to save the woman and her pet was David Phung.

The video starts with three men, including Phung, attempting to cut into the car's roof and break its window. The woman inside can be heard saying, "I'm drowning."

As things turn dire, Phung jumps into the water to rescue the woman. After she is saved, she cries out to get her dog, who is still in the now-submerged car. Phung then goes underwater and, after several heart-stopping seconds, returns with the adorable white dog.

This was not the only dramatic dog rescue of the current flood. Lyn Gibson of Tangipahoa Parish escaped from her house with her dogs after she cut a hole in her roof, using only her feet, a saw, and a screwdriver, in order to escape the rising waters. "I just kept picking and hitting and prying until I could get a hole big enough," she told CBS. "I would saw for a while. I'd kick at it for a while."

The flooding in Baton Rouge and other areas of south Louisiana is ongoing and has so far claimed two lives. More than 1,000 people (and over 100 pets) have been rescued so far. A state of emergency has been declared through at least Sept. 10, and the Louisiana National Guard has been deployed. A "hazardous weather outlook" has also been issued by the National Weather Service for parts of nearby New Orleans.

Latest in Life