On July 8, 2017, eight members of a family in total, were enjoying an evening together at the beach in Panhandle, Florida. As the sun sank lower on the horizon, the two boys Noah, 11, and Stephen, 8—swam into the waves without the grown-ups noticing. Soon they realized that the ocean had pulled them into the sea. After trying and failing to swim back, they started waving and screaming for help. But the lifeguards had been off duty for the evening.
The boys had been struggling for several minutes when Jacky and Tabatha, a couple from Georgia, heard them. They dived into the water and soon reached the two brothers. But after a few minutes, they were all trapped in a rip current (离岸流)—a powerful one that could sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea! By then, some teenagers had heard the cry. One of the teens rushed into the water, grabbed Jacky, and pulled him back to shore. Meanwhile, Tabatha could feel herself being pulled farther out. She was already exhausted and beginning to feel desperate as she was trying to save both boys alone.
Onshore, Jacky was terrified. A man stopped. "What's wrong?" asked Shaun, who was heading back to his car. "My wife is drowning!" Jacky said. Shaun immediately strode (大步跨)into the water. But several minutes later, a gaping 15 feet still lay between him and Tabatha and the boys. He knew that if he continued, he'd become another victim. He turned around to seek help.
It was about that time that Roberta, the boys' mother, returned from the bathroom and looked around for her children. She was shocked to spot them floating much farther out than they were allowed to go. She fought the waves to get to her screaming sons and the stranger who was trying to save them, but she quickly discovered it was nearly impossible to make headway in any direction. Looking around, Roberta sighed with relief to see some more people coming to help.
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When they tried in vain to rescue the brothers and Tabatha, a risky idea came to them.
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By then, more swimmers had also noticed the group in trouble and rushed to join the human chain.
