Tourists follow GPS directions straight into the sea off Hawaii and have to be rescued

A sailboat crew had to spring into action to rescue two tourists from their sinking van after they drove straight into Honokohau Harbor in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Christie Hutchinson captured the dramatic moment on video when the crew swam over to the driver and passenger and helped them escape unharmed.

Two men tied a rope to the back of the silver Chrysler Town & Country and tried to save the van, but their efforts were ultimately in vain as it quickly sank into the harbor.

Christie is heard to say, “Pretty sure that wasn’t meant to be” before explaining how the tourists followed GPS directions and took a wrong turn.

The crew of sailboat Nanea, who had just returned from a day of sailing, went into hiding to rescue the two women

In a Storyful report, she explained that the crew of the Nanea sailboat had just returned from a day of sailing when they saw the car drive head-on into the harbour.

“The passengers were tourists trying to find a Manta Ray Snorkel tour company in port and had followed their GPS directions when they took a wrong turn into the water,” she said.

“I think they must have just taken their eyes off the road for a while,” she told Hawaii News Now.

Christie said she was about to get her boat out of the harbor after a morning on the water with her husband and their friends when she suddenly saw the car slide off the boat ramp and straight into the water.

“I was just sitting there trying to find shelter from the rain, and then I saw a car go right past our boat at a decent speed, straight into the harbor,” she said.

In the footage, sailboat crew members dive into the harbor and help the van’s female driver escape through the window before carrying her to shallower waters.

The other passenger, also a woman, and reportedly the driver’s sister, escaped through the window on the other side of the car.

Although the passengers made active attempts to escape the car, neither seemed particularly alarmed about what was happening.

Members of the crew also tried to save the sinking vehicle, but were unsuccessful

Online viewers of the footage pointed to an episode of The Office in which Steve Carell’s Michael Scott and Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute find themselves in a similar situation.

“Just watched this episode of ‘The Office,'” one online viewer wrote.

“Michael Scott already did this episode,” wrote another.

Others wondered how the motorists could get into what was happening to actually get the car into the harbor.

“It’s as easy as looking out the windshield… What am I missing?” one user asked.

Another mockingly wrote, “So if you see water, you’re still driving it?”

“An expensive vacation,” one viewer wrote. “I hope they have the extra coverage for their rental car.”