Officials in a U.K. district are warning residents to “respect” the sea after a child was nearly swept away before being rescued by bystanders earlier this month.
A group of children were playing on the pier slipway at Ilfracombe Harbour in Ilfracombe, on the southwest coast of England, during high tide shortly before 7 p.m. on Aug. 3 when the incident occurred.
According to a statement from the North Devon Council, a wave knocked a girl off her feet, and she slipped through the railings into the water.
“One quick-thinking member of the public retrieved a lifebuoy while another was able to catch the girl before she was swept further out to sea,” the council said.
Surveillance video shared by the council shows the girl standing next to a railing on a portion of the pier that ramps down toward the water. Large waves crash against the pier, and one of them pulls her through the metal bars and into the sea.
The girl is pulled farther and farther until she reaches the end of the main pier, where a bystander can be seen pulling her in.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution responded to the scene and treated two children before transporting them home, the council said.
“This incident is a serious reminder of the dangers of tombstoning and other high-risk activities in the harbor. Not only were the youths lucky not to be more seriously injured, they put their lives in danger as well as those of quick-thinking bystanders who acted when they got into trouble,” Harbormaster Georgina Carlo-Paat said.
“The sea conditions were very volatile and all of the youths had been knocked off their feet on the slipway prior to the incident, but still continued to run into surging waves. Thankfully the RNLI were on exercise in the outer harbor at the time and were able to respond very quickly and tended to their injuries before escorting them all home,” Carlo-Paat said.
The North Devon coastline is known for its rocky cliffs, which attracts so-called “tombstoning,” or jumping off the cliffs into the water.
The council warned that a bylaw “prohibits people from jumping, diving into and swimming the harbor without permission from the harbor master. This protects people from risks such as altering water depths; submerged objects and rocks, and the strong currents that can rapidly sweep people away.”
The penalty for jumping off the harbor can be a fine up to 1,000 pounds, or about $1,270, upon prosecution.
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#rescue
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I mean grabbing the rail won’t hurt but not grabbing it will kill
WELL DONE TO YOU SIR.. NEXT TIME DONT PLAY BY THE SEA
The child basically rescued itself…
First guy's a chickenshit he had an easy chance at her 30 seconds before or more
where is the parent why she is their.
😮🥺😔
Dios la protejA🙏 las olas le provocaron un golpazo. En la cabeza. La dejo casi desmayada.
Hero.
Now spank that kid’s parents.
Thanks ❤
Far out!! Someone get a whiskey 🥃 for that good man!! Cheers to you sir. As for all te other adults…standing around doing nothing…. You all should go have a hard think internally as to why you stood around with your thumbs 👍 up your bums 😡
Omg! Kid almost died 😮😮😮
She rescued herself. Swam at 90 degrees to the flow of water.
The fisherman looks then recasts the line!
Why was the child there to begin with
Dumbazz kids i swear
Not really a child.. just a idiot
Thanks god
Parents!!! Where the hell were you?!?
Where was the resourceful part🤷
What’s a child doing there?????????
I don’t know about resourceful… As this was the only person to respond
Great save! Good thing the kid knew how into stay above water.
God bless you for ever, poor child must have been terrified. A true hero.
Thats how easy it is to lose your life….
When it said resourceful I thought the fishing rod would of been helpful but then again what could a long pole do in this situation… glad they’re ok
Fish, yet again, being denied their RIGHTFUL breakfast
No body seemed in a rush to help her
Ein Glück.
Treue Helfer❤❤❤❤
Kids being kids
at least we have some still walking this land that are willing to put their lives at risk to help save others,
and that is why Christ still love us.
Why was she standing too close when the wave was way too much,, I’m sorry but In a way she should be blamed,, cos we could all see clearly that the wave gave her some warning but she stood standstill
Some people got lucky 🍀
Thank you for the heroic rescue man 🙏🙏🙏💕
EXCELLENT RIGHT HUMAN ACTION, not taking videos. One was is enough.🙏🙏🙏
He wasn't "a bystander"
He was a Resourceful Citizen
niezle miał ciśnienie 😎
One on seven who has idea to rescue a kid in danger. That is our sad world🫨
こんなお調子者は周囲に大変迷惑な行為！ 周囲の善人達を危険に及ぼした責任を恥を知るべぎだ！
Who allowed this to happen in the first place 😡😡😡 but 🥳🥳🥳🥳 for recuser
How good are fellow humans man 😊
Those two just staring and holding on to the railing, better not be able to swim. Otherwise, they have no excuse for inaction.
The kid was getting out the water regardless of any resourceful bystanders. But good job anyway
Should not have been there to start with shocking
It wasn’t just the one, another went to the nearest life belt which would also have had a rope attached to pull the person back in (thankfully it was there considering how many low life’s pinch them).
These seaside towns often have nothing for the young people who live there to do other than play by the sea and I’m betting it was a local kid who was taken by surprise. Luckily they’ll be able to learn from this.
(I grew up in a seaside town on the same coast and have had a very similar experience)
Always grab the life belt. Be careful when rescuing, often the rescuer drowns instead of or as well as the person in difficulty.
Why was the kid there in the first…smh
What was the child doing there? Both parents and their child are careless.
In this case, throwing the life belt on a string was a futile and distracting event. The child couldn’t catch it, and they likely would’ve been smashed against the rocks. The guy who rescued him did the correct action.
Bravo to the rescuers.
Play stupid games win stupid prizes