Florida houseboat capsizes during sea rescue mission
Dramatic moment Good Samaritans dive into giant waves to rescue three strangers trapped in their houseboat after it capsizes in Florida
- Four people were rescued from the sea at Panama City Marina on Friday
- The fishermen involved said they were battling six-foot waves amid a raging storm
- A rescue worker had to smash a window of a houseboat to free the occupants
Fishermen bravely saved the lives of four strangers – including a trio trapped aboard a capsized houseboat – in the midst of a raging storm.
The Good Samaritans battled “six-foot waves” on Friday night to rescue people trapped in the overturned ship as it rolled in the surf just south of Florida’s Panama City Marina boat ramp.
Three fishermen and a man aboard a separate boat, named Jordan Boyd, were involved in the civilian rescue mission.
Travis Brady was one of the fishermen and he said they were catching red snapper when the storm clouds gathered.
As the waves grew bigger, his crew spotted a houseboat almost completely submerged in the gray water.
The Good Samaritans battled “six-foot waves” to rescue people trapped in the overturned houseboat as it rolled in the surf just south of Florida’s Panama City Marina boat ramp
They selflessly fought through the relentless waves to search for survivors, as Boyd’s smaller boat approached from a different angle.
Brady said Boyd was the “true hero of the story” after he dove into the water and broke a window on the houseboat to free the occupants.
“Within 15 minutes we were in five-foot, six-foot waves,” Brady recalled WJHG.
“He was in the water without hesitation helping those people.”
“It restores your faith in humanity, it really makes you think about the things that are important in life,” Brady added.
“I’m going to try not to get emotional, but it was an intense moment.
“I’ve never been super religious, but today was just a super eye-opening moment for me, and I just feel like divine intervention puts you in the right place at the right time.”
Brady and his crew pulled the three survivors from the houseboat out of the water, as well as a fourth person whose pontoon had been overturned by the swelling waves.
They selflessly battled through the relentless waves to search for survivors, as rescuers on a smaller boat approached from a different angle Friday night
They can be seen in the footage extending life jackets to survivors amid scattered debris in the sea.
Their boat rises and sinks rapidly in the storm, as drops of water destroy the camera lens.
Another skipper involved in the rescue, Matthew Gillis, said the mission was an “adrenaline rush.”
“You kind of go into a different kind of mode, you know, we have to get these people to safety, try to help them as best we can, you know, because life is precious and we have to do everything we can to protect them, he said WMBB.
“So we tried to do everything we could to help the people there.”