'It Was Pretty Painful': Fisherman Survives Frigid Waters After Boat Sinks Off Scituate

SCITUATE (CBS) - The three fishermen rescued after their boat sank in Scituate on Tuesday afternoon are expected to fully recover.

"To be fine one minute, to three minutes later being in the water to save your own life. It was like traumatic," said Joe Roderick.

Roderick spoke with WBZ News about what it was like when the boat started sinking, and how he survived the frigid waters for an estimated 45 minutes.

"The whole boat flipped over, and I got thrown in the water," said Roderick. "I remember swimming away from the boat because I didn't want to get pulled down in the suction."

Roderick said the men held onto hoses that floated, using their arms to latch on.

"The longer I was there, the more my chest from holding on. My chest from kicking with all my fishing gear on. It was pretty painful," said Roderick.

Scituate police said a woman along the shore saw police and dialed 911.

When first responders reached the men by boat, they had a hard time removing them from the water.

Scituate Police Officer Brendon McAuley said, "He was cold he wasn't able to self-recover in anyway and he was covered in diesel fuel, so he was very slippery."

Each of the three men were taken to the hospital.

Roderick suffered hypothermia and severe bruising.

As of Wednesday, doctors were continuing to monitor him due to the amount of salt water and diesel he ingested.

The owner of the vessel, named Bing-Bing, said the boat was fully refurbished in 2018.