Incredible moment lifeguards form chain to rescue struggling swimmer

Incredible moment four Florida lifeguards form a human chain to help drag struggling boogie boarder out of water

  • Drone footage captured the impressive work of lifeguards on Flagler Beach, in Florida, after a man on a boogie board couldn’t get back to shore
  • Local man Joseph Osborne managed to capture footage and described the work of the lifeguards as ‘neat’ 
  • It comes after incredible footage captured the moment three fishermen had to be rescued by a helicopter after their boat sank off Nantucket

This is the incredible moment a group of lifeguards form a human chain to rescue a man who got too far from the shore on a boogie board.

Drone footage captured the four lifeguards on Flagler Beach, Florida, rescuing the man who couldn’t get back to shore.

Local man Joseph Osborne launched his UAV and while watching it told Fox35 he was ‘impressed’ with the maneuver.

Osborne said: ‘I didn’t even know that existed. You don’t know what they know. You just have trust in them. I was actually kind of impressed.

‘It was definitely a rehearsed thing with their buoys and their lines, and they use them in unison. Very impressive. I thought it was very neat.’

The video shows the group of lifeguards pulling the unidentified man back to shore using a human chain

Two of them initially pull the man, holding onto their own individuals buoys to stay afloat

The video shows the group of lifeguards pulling the unidentified man back to shore using a human chain.

Two of them initially pull the man, holding onto their own individuals buoys to stay afloat. 

They then link up with one another lifeguard in the water who then reaches out to a fourth who is in shallow waters near the beach. 

The fourth lifeguard on land then pulls the chain ashore and to safety, with the man on the boogie board. 

Malaina Bryant, a lieutenant with Flagler Beach Ocean Rescue told the outlet: ‘That rescue is pretty far out, so they needed backup, so the backup comes out, and then they chain up by grabbing each other’s buoys.

‘We all work really hard, so it shows on the video. They did awesome. We just have to tell by word of mouth or tell each other about our rescues, but we never really get to see how far out a person was or how well we did something.’

Osborne also told Fox that he hopped the video served as a reminder about the dangers of being caught in a rip current and strong winds. 

He said: ‘Unless you really could see it, you don’t believe it, but it’s strong enough. It’ll pull you out.’

The fourth lifeguard on land then pulls the chain ashore and to safety, with the man on the boogie board

The man on the board had struggled to get back to shore after going out into the water, he is pictured here with the rescue team

Tom Gillin, the ocean rescue director for the beach told the Daytona Beach News Journal: ‘He wasn’t actually drowning. He couldn’t get back in.

‘The person at the beginning of the chain is on shallow footing, so they can pull back and walk their way back.’

It comes after incredible footage captured the moment three fishermen had to be rescued by a coastguard helicopter after their boat sank off Nantucket.

Coastguard crews had to scramble to rescue the crew of the 55-foot fishing vessel Miss Kara shortly before 2pm on pm Saturday afternoon.

Coastguard crews used a cage apparatus to pull the men up one by one with the assistance of a rescue team member in the water

Video captured onboard the helicopter shows the moment the three men are hoisted to safety.

Coastguard crews used a cage apparatus to pull the men up one by one with the assistance of a rescue team member in the water.

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