A father and son team has reportedly rescued at least 23 people in Plaquemines Parish as Hurricane Isaac continues to drench Louisiana on Wednesday.
NOLA.com reports that Jesse Shaffer, 25, of Braithwaite, La., and his father, Jesse Shaffer, Sr. 53, have two people assisting them in the rescues, including a Woodlawn firefighter.
"We've rescued at least 23 people, including children," Jesse Shaffer told the website. Shaffer was reached by a Times-Picayune reporter on his cellphone Wednesday morning while he was still aboard his boat conducting rescues.
Plaquemine Parish president Billy Nungesser confirmed that the Shaffers are rescuing east bank residents, including a woman and her 5-month-old infant from a roof.
“He lives here, he knows the area,” Nungesser said.
Nungesser said the Perez plantation house in Braithwaite — a wood residence on the Mississippi River — has 8 feet of water and seven people stranded. Anywhere between 20 and 60 people could be stranded on the east bank, he said. Others have estimated the figure could be closer to 145.
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