A group of beachgoers came to the rescue of a family caught in a rip current at Panama City Beach, Fla., on Saturday, forming an 80-person, 100-yard-long human chain to draw them back to shore.
According to the Panama City News Herald, Roberta Ursrey and her family went to Panama City Beach on Saturday to enjoy the warm weather. After spending some time in the water with her two sons, she decided to turn in.
As she left the water, she looked back to check on her boys and saw that they were further from shore than she remembered. She soon heard them scream and cry for help.
Ursrey and six of her family members ran into the water to rescue her boys, but because of the rip current, they were soon trapped as well.
“I honestly thought I was going to lose my family that day,” Ursrey told the local news outlet. “It was like, ‘Oh God, this is how I’m going.’”
She said they were stuck in about 15 feet of water. Her mother suffered a heart attack during the ordeal and very nearly died.
If it had not been for a selfless act by a group of strangers, things could have possibly gone far worse.
Beachgoer Jessica Simmons told the News Herald that she saw people pointing out into the water and first thought they had seen a shark. Then she saw her husband run toward the water and realized someone was drowning.
Simmons grabbed her boogie board and paddled out to the family while her husband and dozens of other Good Samaritans formed a human chain to pull the Ursreys back to shore.
“These people are not drowning today,” Simmons told herself. “It’s not happening. We’re going to get them out.”
They managed to bring Ursrey and her family to safety.
“I am so grateful,” Ursrey said. “These people were God’s angels that were in the right place at the right time. I owe my life and my family’s life to them. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”
Check out pictures and footage of the event below.
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