'Right place, right time': Aussie model saves drowning teens from icy New York pond
An Australian model and his skateboarding friend have been hailed as heroes in New York after they risked their lives to save seven teenagers who fell through ice in Central Park.
The children, aged 15 and 16, were playing, dancing and taking selfies on a frozen pond on Monday night but their laughter turned to a fight for survival when the ice fractured and they fell into frigid waters.
Luckily for the teens, Australian model Ethan Turnbull, 24, and his friend Bennett Jonas, a 23-year-old Californian model, were skateboarding past just at the right time in the iconic Manhattan park and saw the ice collapse.
"Right place, right time," the Sydney native said following the ordeal.
"I think they all just panicked a little bit."
Seven teenagers fell into the freezing cold waters in Central Park while trying to take selfies on a frozen lake. Source: NBC
Enter Ethan Turnbull. Source: Instagram
"They were like overwhelmed, it was so absolutely freezing cold."
Sharing his new-found fame on his Instagram page, Turnbull wrote "fortunate enough to have been in the position to help multiple younger generation New Yorkers today".
Turnbull and Jonas worked as a team as they pulled the kids out of the icy water.
"I went into the water, he followed me and the first two kids, jumped on top of me and I had to get them off," Jonas said.
The children were all pulled out safely and treated for hypothermia, with one taken to hospital.
The Australian model jumped into the icy cold waters to help the stranded teens out. Source: Instagram
The Sydney native frequents Central Park. Source: Instagram
"He was just passing the kids at the end and I was just throwing them up and over the fence," Turnbull added.
Authorities were able to get to the pond within two minutes.
"Some of those kids would have gone under the water if we didn't go in, so God was looking out for them and was looking out for me and I was in this park for a reason tonight," Jonas said.
- With AAP.
