Harrowing Video Shows Baton Rouge Woman, Dog Pulled From Sinking Car

Video was rolling when a team of rescuers courageously pulled a woman and her dog out of a sinking car with what seemed like seconds to spare. 

The dramatic footage shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shows several men on a boat coming upon the woman’s bobbing car as she screams from inside, local station WAFB reported  Saturday. (It’s unclear when the original footage was shot.) 

“Oh my god, I’m drowning,” a small voice says from inside.

The men feverishly try to break through the car’s sealed back roof, without immediate success.

Finally, one of the men successfully pierces through the fabric roof and after a few breathtaking seconds just as the car vanishes beneath the murky water the woman emerges.

It’s then that she panics, realizing that her dog is not with her.

“Maybe she’s gone,” one man suggests.

“She better not be,” the woman replies, offering to go down and search herself.

Her unidentified hero then takes one more dive beneath the water. He surfaces to collective gasps, holding a little white dog in his arms.

The man, woman and dog then make their way to the nearby boat.

The harrowing water rescue is just one of thousands that have taken place across southern portions of the state, according to the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office .

At a press conference Saturday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) declared a state of emergency  and said three people had died in the flooding. 

In March, floods throughout Louisiana and Mississippi killed four people and damaged thousands of homes.

“This is unprecedented,” Edwards said. “Please don’t rely on your experiences in the past.”

Rain is expected to fall across the Lower Mississippi Valley into Monday morning, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .

Flood watches have been issued for parts of southeastern Texas through Sunday evening. Flash flood warnings are also extended into Sunday morning for western parts of Louisiana.

The NOAA stressed that many people who fall victim to flood waters fail to realize the water’s strength.

“A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away a small car, while 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles,” NOAA warns on its website . “It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters.”