Florida beachgoers form a massive human chain to rescue raft which got stranded as they scrambled to save little girl from drowning in rough Gulf waters
Quick-thinking beachgoers in Florida rushed to save the lives of multiple people who got caught in rough Gulf waters Wednesday.
The wild scene unfolded at the Emerald Isle Resort at Panama City Beach as two women jumped into the waters to retrieve a little girl who had been screaming for help.
One woman succeeded in retrieving the girl but the other struggled in the intense Gulf, prompting Ryan Stelmachers - who was at the beach with his family - to leap into action and paddle out in a raft.
The wild scene unfolded at the Emerald Isle Resort at Panama City Beach as two women jumped into the waters to retrieve a little girl Wednesday
'The current kept pulling us out, pulling us out, pulling us out, and every time we take one step forward, it would take us back three steps,' Stelmachers said to WMBB, explaining how difficult it was to retrieve the people in his raft.
The man's wife, Briana Stelmachers, watched with concern from the beach with the couple's two children.
'So once my husband got out there, and I saw they were struggling, you know I kind of panicked but you know the strangers held my daughter and watched my son while I could help and everyone got back in safe,' she said.
Footage shows more than a dozen people linking arms as they try to retrieve the raft as choppy waters send it further and further out.
Brian Stelmachers credits the human chain that formed for helping get him to shore as the choppy waters would have been too difficult for him to swim in.
Footage shows more than a dozen people linking arms as they try to retrieve the raft as choppy waters send it further and further out
Beach safety officials actually discourage the formation of human chains when retrieving folks from harsh conditions
'I've swam in a lot of oceans and done a lot of things and I've never experienced anything like that,' he said. 'It's real. Mother nature is no joke.'
The father continued: 'I would take it seriously. I'm the last person in the world to say that because I'm always like "Let's go to the beach" you know? "It's no big deal, I'm not scared" but that was no joke today.'
Beach safety officials actually discourage the formation of human chains when retrieving folks from harsh conditions.
They say the chains can sometimes lead to more people being swept out into the water.
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