Beachgoers Form Human Chain to Save 10 Swimmers From Rip Current

Andrea Romano
·1 min read

Human kindness goes a long way.

Ten beachgoers, including a family of six and four other swimmers, learned that they can depend on the strength and determination of strangers in a dire situation.

A strong rip current trapped the 10 people in the water in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Saturday. Bystanders on the shore noticed the swimmers, and started forming a human chain out into the water to reach them.

Roberta Ursrey, the mother of the two young boys who were caught in the current, told CNN that “she spotted the boys, who are 8 and 11, screaming and crying far out in the water.” According to The Washington Post, Ursrey ventured into the water after her two boys and got caught in the water herself.

Ursrey, her two sons, her 27-year-old nephew, 67-year-old mother and 31-year-old husband, and another unidentified couple were all caught by the current, according to The Washington Post.

The human chain started on shore and grew to over 80 people. Jessica Simmons, a bystander who was among the people in the human chain, recounted the event on Facebook: “I have always been a GREAT swimmer. I was raised in a pool and a lake since I was crawling, so water was no hard task for me,” Simmons wrote.

It was nearly an hour before all 10 people reached the shore again.

Simmons also wrote on Facebook, “what really got me was how a entire BEACH jumped into action to save these people. People who COULDNT even swim was part of that human chain. They wanted to help that bad.”