Duck boat rescues child and father after fall in Charles River

CAMBRIDGE - A Boston Duck Tour boat came to the rescue of a little boy and his father after a fall into the Charles River Monday morning.

Massachusetts State Police said the boy who is under 2 years old apparently squeezed through the railing and fell into the water behind the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. The boy's father jumped in after him.

Duck Boat first on scene after fall into river

The boy's family screamed for help, witnesses said. Police and firefighters were called, but it was a Duck Boat that arrived on scene first. The amphibious vehicle that's famous for taking tourists to see Boston landmarks from land and water happened to be doing a routine rescue training drill nearby.

Photos taken by a witness show the orange Duck Boat heading toward the father and child who were clinging to a stone wall. Two workers on the Duck Boat say they have never seen anything like this in their combined 20-plus years on the job.

"Just hold on to this kid"

Duck Boat operator and captain Michael Rosario said "the adrenaline was kicking in."

"This is crazy," he said. "It was happening while we were doing training. Now we're doing a real-life rescue."

"I was thinking, just hold on to this kid," narrator and captain Kevin O'Neill said. "Get them up onto the Duck safe."

Rosario said the child was crying and cold, so they wrapped him in a blanket.

"I have two daughters. I just thought about if it was my child and I was stuck in there, I would be so happy if somebody came to rescue us," he said.

The boy and his father are OK. As for Duck Boat rescuers Rosario and O'Neill, they were going right back to work for a busy day of tours.