It’s not always easy to perceive human compassion and love from others – and certainly not from perfect strangers. But when push comes to shove, it seems apparent that people, even perfect strangers, are still getting together to do the right thing.
This was the case recently on the beach in Panama City, Florida on July 11, 2017. It was an ordinary day, and sunbathers cooled off in the ocean. But as we all know, the sea is a vast and powerful entity with a mind of its own. Suddenly, the tide shifted, and two young boys, Noah Ursrey, 11 and his brother Stephen, 8, were stuck in a lethal rip current.
Their mother, Roberta Ursrey, heard their cries from the beach and bravely ran to their rescue. Unfortunately, she too succumbed and soon found herself also fighting for her life against the lethal current. The boys’ grandma, Barbara Franz, as well as 5 other beachgoers soon also found themselves caught in the dangerous current.
That’s when pure humanity came to the rescue.
With no lifeguards on the beach, it was regular folk who decided to come to the struggling swimmers’ aid. And they did this in the most brilliant way imaginable: they formed a human chain, writes The Washington Post.
Beachgoer Jessica Simmons was having dinner on the beach when she heard the cries. At first mistaking the cries to be someone spotting a shark, she soon realized the reality of the situation.
She decided to take action.
“These people are not drowning today,” Jessica Simmons thought, she told the Panama City News Herald. “It’s not happening. We’re going to get them out.”
Jessica, a strong swimmer, ran towards the water, and that’s when she heard strangers’ cries: “Form a human chain!”
And that’s exactly what they did. 80 complete strangers courageously entered the water, with their hands clenched together.
The chain started in very shallow water close to shore and ran for about 300 feet in water about 15 feet deep.
Jessica and husband Derek, an equally strong swimmer, then managed to pull the people caught in the current to safety.
It took almost an hour to save all 9 people stuck in the devastating stream. Two were taken to hospital but are in stable condition.
Jessica later shared her impressions about the powerful moment that strangers saved lives in a Facebook post:
“To see people from different races and genders come into action to help TOTAL strangers is absolutely amazing to see!! People who didn’t even know each other went HAND IN HAND IN A LINE, into the water to try and reach them. Pause and just IMAGINE that.”
See the below news report for more:
Please consider sharing this story with your family and friends if you agree that what these strangers did was humanity at its best!
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