WATCH – ‘They Did Awesome’: Florida Lifeguards Form Human Chain to Rescue Swimmer

Citizens are in awe of a group of lifeguards in Flagler Beach, Florida, who performed an incredible rescue August 5.

Joe Osborne told Fox 35 he was taking a break from work when he sent his drone into the sky. He was surprised when the device captured a rarely seen moment involving the lifeguards.

“I was actually kind of impressed. It was definitely a rehearsed thing … with their buoys and their lines, and they use them in unison. Very impressive. I thought it was very neat,” he explained.

The group was saving a man with a boogie board who had been swept far from shore and was in need of help.

The aerial video footage shows the man resting on his board as four lifeguards tow him back to safety. What makes their actions so incredible was the rescuers’ display of seamless teamwork:

The lifeguards are all connected by lines and swimming in unison to accomplish the task. When the first of the group reaches shore, he and the others rise from the water and the rescued man follows suit as bystanders watch.

The man appears to be okay as he grabs his board and continues back up the beach.

When speaking of the incident, Malaina Bryant, a lieutenant with Flagler Beach Ocean Rescue, explained, “That rescue is pretty far out, so they needed backup, so the backup comes out, and then they chain up by grabbing each other’s buoys.”

According to the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual, a lifeguard’s primary responsibility is to ensure people are safe and protect lives while on the job, and part of that job is to maintain a close watch over others in order to help if needed.

In 2019, a similar rescue happened when beachgoers formed a human chain to pull a swimmer out of a rip current at Panama City Beach, Florida, per ABC 7:

After the Flagler Beach incident, Bryant watched the clip of her coworkers and said, “We all work really hard, so it shows on the video. They did awesome.”