Meet Scott Ruskan: The Coast Guard hero who saved 165 lives during the Texas floods
, a
rescue swimmer
with the US Coast Guard, is now being called an "
American hero
" as he saved 165 people affected by the flash floods in Texas during his first mission over the Fourth of July weekend, as reported by Newsweek.
Scott Ruskan Hailed as Hero After Saving 165 in Texas Floods
Ruskan is based out of New Jersey and previously worked at KPMG as an accountant, but later he enlisted in the US Coast Guard in 2021, according to the report. Once he completed rescue swimmer training, he was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, as per Newsweek.
The 26-year-old told The New York Post in an interview that, "I'm mostly just a dude. I'm just doing a job. This is what I signed up for, and I think that any single Coast Guard rescue swimmer or any single Coast Guard pilot, flight mechanic, whoever it may be, would have done the exact same thing in our situation," as quoted by Newsweek.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Apotheker packt aus: 7-Minuten Trick bei Nagelpilz
Heilratgeber
Weiterlesen
Undo
The rescue swimmer was in charge of triage at Camp Mystic, which is a summer camp where there were 700 girls at the time the flash flood had hit the Guadalupe River, as reported by Newsweek.
ALSO READ:
AI stocks could crash like Dot-Coms, says Wall Street veteran — suggests these safer bets instead
Live Events
Multi-Agency Teamwork Behind the Rescue
Ruskan's mission needed extensive cooperation between the Coast Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Air National Guard, and Texas Task Force 1, a FEMA urban search and rescue task force, as reported by Newsweek. The search and rescue technician with Texas Task Force 1 had called the Coast Guard for help for an emergency rapid response, as per the report.
He explained that, "That's a little bit outside our area of operation normally, but people were in danger, and we're a good asset to try and help people out, and these guys were asking for help, so that's kind of what we do," as quoted by Newsweek.
Ruskan helped to lead the rescue mission that brought 165 people to safety and said that, "So we basically got the majority of the people out of Camp Mystic, which is awesome. And I feel like we did a lot of good that day, but obviously it's still super sad," and also added that, "There's still a lot of people missing and unaccounted for, so the mission's not over yet. It's not over for us," as quoted in the report.
ALSO READ:
Trump's tariff drama is fake and just for TV, says White House source in bombshell leak
Praise From Homeland Security
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised Ruskan's efforts on a social media X post, saying, "United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin, directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas. This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero," as quoted by Newsweek.
Flash Floods Hit Hard Over Holiday Weekend
Flash floods had been going on across central Texas during the Fourth of July weekend and are expected to last up until at least Monday morning, as the Guadalupe River rose over 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes, which led to widespread devastation and forced evacuations, according to the Newsweek report.
ALSO READ:
Xi Jinping losing his grip? Signs emerge of chaos in China's military and political circles
FAQs
Who is Scott Ruskan?
He is a 26-year-old US Coast Guard rescue swimmer who helped save 165 people in his very first mission, as reported by Newsweek.
What was Ruskan's role in the rescue?
He was in charge of triage and helped coordinate the evacuation of people from a flooded summer camp.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Who were pilots of ill-fated Air India Ahmedabad-London flight
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, both pilots of Air India flight AI-171, had been declared fit for duty and were adequately rested before the flight took off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, according to an interim report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). However, just seconds after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet reached its maximum recorded airspeed of 180 knots, both its engines shut down one after the other, leading to a fatal crash, the report said. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command of AI-171 on June 12, was a seasoned flyer with over 15,600 hours of flight experience — more than half of it on the 787 Dreamliner. The 56-year-old held an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), the highest level of certification, issued in May 2021 and valid until 2026. His most recent Class 1 medical examination was conducted on September 5, 2024. In the 30 days leading up to the crash, Sabharwal had logged approximately 57 flight hours. A long-serving pilot, Sabharwal lived in Jalvayu Vihar, Powai, with his 90-year-old father and was just months away from retirement. His neighbours earlier told The Indian Express that he looked forward to spending more time at home and caring for his aging parent. Sabharwal is survived by his elder sister, who lives in Delhi. Her two sons have followed in Sabharwal's footsteps and are both commercial pilots. First Office Clive Kunder, the co-pilot on the fateful flight, only recently started flying long haul international flights. The 32-year-old had 3,400 hours of flight experience, with around 1,100 hours on the 787 Dreamliner. Kunder held a Commercial Pilot License (CPL), which was issued in 2020 and was valid until September this year. His most recent Class 1 medical examination was conducted on February 4, 2025. In the 30 days leading up to the crash, Sabharwal had logged approximately 66 flight hours. At the time of the crash, Kunder was just two months away from his wedding. A graduate of the aircraft maintenance programme at the Bombay Flying Club, he later completed his flying training in Florida, US. His parents now live in Sydney along with his sister. Kunder's mother is a former Air India flight attendant. The pilot had been living alone in Mumbai's Goregaon area. Both pilots, based in Mumbai, had arrived in Ahmedabad a day earlier. On the day of the flight, the crew reported to the airport, underwent pre-flight breath analyser tests, and were found fit to operate the aircraft. According to the investigation, the crash likely occurred after both engine fuel control switches moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position in quick succession shortly after takeoff. 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report said.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
'Doesn't talk, struggles to sleep': Lone Air India crash survivor battles trauma, taking psychiatric help
Probably the luckiest man alive for some, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor of the June 12 Air India crash that killed 241 others on board and several others who were on ground, is reportedly struggling to cope up with the trauma of the harrowing day. Lone survivor of the AI-171 flight crash, Vishwas Ramesh Kumar, mourns the death of his brother Ajay Ramesh(ANI Grab ) Vishwas Kumar Ramesh was the only one out of the 242 passengers of the ill-fated London-Ahmedabad flight who walked out of the crash alive, shocking the world. He is now taking a psychiatrist's help to find a way of coping with the traumatic experience, his cousin said, according to news agency PTI. The London-bound Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner went down just seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12. Vishwas, seated in 11A near the emergency exit, was the only passenger who survived, with was his own brother, Ajay, being among the 241 others onboard who died. Another 19 people were killed on the ground. Vishwas Kumar Ramesh devastated The aftermath has left Vishwas emotionally devastated. Vishwas's cousin said he wakes up in the middle of the night and finds it difficult to fall back asleep. "Many people, including our relatives living abroad, call us to inquire about Vishwas's well-being. But he does not talk to anyone. He is yet to overcome the mental trauma of the crash and the death of his brother," PTI quoted his cousin Sunny as saying. "He still wakes up in the middle of the night and finds it difficult to fall asleep again. We took him to a psychiatrist two days ago to find remedy. He has not made any plans yet to return to London because his treatment has just begun," Sunny added. Vishwas was discharged from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on June 17 - the same day his family received Ajay's body after a DNA match. The brothers had been returning to London after visiting their family in Diu, part of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In a video widely shared on social media, Vishwas was seen carrying his brother's mortal remains on his shoulders to the cremation ground in Diu on June 18. This was just one of the many videos of Vishwas post the crash that stunned the world. Some videos from the crash day showed Vishwas walking out of the tragedy site. In another viral video taken just after the crash, Vishwas is seen walking toward an ambulance, away from the debris. Surviving that moment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vishwas at the hospital a day after the crash and enquired about his condition. In an interview to Doordarshan after the Air India crash, Vishwas recounted the terrifying seconds before impact. "Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the [medical college] hostel premises after the plane crash-landed. When I saw that the door was broken, I told myself that I can try and get out. Eventually, I came out," he had told reporters.
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
Raises more questions than answers: Aviation expert on Air India crash preliminary report
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], July 12 (ANI): Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar on Sunday said that the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the Air India flight 171 crash raises more questions than answers, and expressed that the investigative authority should have made the transcript of cockpit voice recorder (CVR) public. He said that informing the public about only 'one line' from the cockpit conversations about 'switches' raises more questions. 'The AAIB report raises more questions than it answers. There are a lot of gaps, which might be filled once the investigation goes further. However, I've had a few issues. How was the US media alerted three days ago? Everyone carried it out, and something does seem correct here. The AAIB should have made the entire CVR transcript public. By just informing the public about one line, it leaves a lot of questions hanging, when they talk about the switches,' Lazar told ANI. The expert suggested that it wasn't appropriate for the AAIB to say that there are no safety recommendations for Boeing or General Electric since the investigation has not been completed. 'I do not believe that, when the investigation was not complete, it was the most appropriate thing for the AAIB to have said in the last line of the report, that there are no safety recommendations for Boeing or General Electric. That means that you have washed your hands, or you have decided that there is something else afoot here. In that case, they could have been more transparent,' Lazar asserted. On Friday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report into the tragic crash of Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. The AI-171 flight, which was bound for London's Gatwick airport, crashed soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport. 260 people lost their lives in the accident, which included 229 passengers, 12 crew members and 19 people on the ground. The report outlines a harrowing sequence of events that unfolded within 90 seconds of takeoff, as both engines of the aircraft shut down unexpectedly during the initial climb, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust and rapid descent. Flight data recovered from the aircraft's Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR) revealed that the fuel cutoff switches for both engines were inadvertently moved from RUN to CUTOFF, one after the other within a 1-second interval, at an altitude just moments after liftoff. One pilot was heard asking the other, 'Why did you cut off?' to which the response was, 'I did not.' This uncommanded shutdown triggered the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), and the aircraft began losing altitude almost immediately, unable to sustain powered flight. According to the AAIB, the pilots re-engaged the fuel switches in an attempt to relight both engines. Engine 1 showed signs of recovering thrust, but Engine 2 failed to stabilise. The aircraft, which had briefly reached a speed of 180 knots, was already descending and failed to regain altitude. The final distress call -- a 'MAYDAY' -- was transmitted at 08:09 UTC, just seconds before the aircraft crashed into residential buildings outside the airport perimeter. (ANI)
