Rescuers find person clinging to piling after 27-foot fall off Oak Island Pier in NC

Someone enjoying the view from Oak Island Pier off North Carolina’s coast ended up in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday, desperately clinging to a piling, according to Oak Island Water Rescue.

The person, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital after being pulled from the water, officials said in a Sept. 30 Facebook post.

Investigators say the individual was “at the end” of the 880-foot-long fishing pier when the incident occurred. It’s a 27-foot drop from the pier to the ocean, according to OakIsland.pier.com.

Witnesses told TV station WWAY “the man climbed over the railing” and jumped, prompting failed attempts by fishermen to save him with nets and rope. “The strong waves swept him from pylon to pylon, until he finally grasped on to a column covered in razor-sharp barnacles,” the station reported.

Oak Island Pier is “North Carolina’s highest pier,” OakIslandNC.com reports.

“The person was clinging to a pier piling in the surf under the pier, which made for some dicey boat driving,” Oak Island Ocean Rescue posted.

An Oak Island police officer pulled the person into a rescue boat, which carried the individual to paramedics and a waiting ambulance, the release said.

Tony Young, the chief of Oak Island Water Rescue, told WWAY “the man was incoherent” when pulled from the water.

The person’s injuries were not released.

The Oak Island Pier (originally called Yaupon Pier) dates to 1955, and the spot is considered “legendary” as a place to catch large king mackerel, CapeFear-NC.com reports. It has been rebuilt multiple times over the years, the site reports.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 1:51 PM.