It's past Memorial Day which means summer has unofficially begun, so more people will be spending time at the beach, wading, swimming, splashing and floating. However, for one family in England, a peaceful day at the shore was anything but. That's because the inflatable swan two little girls were sitting on got blown out to sea. The kids, ages seven and nine, were hanging out on the plastic bird while their father held tight to a line connected to the inflatable. However, in the blustery wind, he lost his grip on the line and the swan quickly floated to deeper waters. While he tried to grab the line again, it moved too quickly so he yelled to the girls to stay on the float and immediately called for help.
Lifeguards were dispatched by raft and a helicopter even flew overhead to help in the rescue of the terrified girls, who at that point were already half a mile offshore. The entire dramatic event was caught on camera.
In the clip, lifeguards can be heard keeping the scared kids calm, explaining to them everything that was going happen. When they make it to shore, the girls' distraught parents are there waiting. The rescuers can be heard noting that there was a "little bit of a strong off-shore wind today."
Thankfully the whole ordeal only lasted a few minutes and aside from some very scary moments, no one was injured.
Photo: Getty Images