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Professional surfer saves swimmer caught in strong ocean current before it’s too late
I held my breath throughout the nerve-wracking footage.
Laura Shallcross
01.07.21

If you’ve ever swum in Hawaii’s ocean before, you’ll know it’s entirely different from anything else you’ll experience in the world.

Even if you consider yourself a strong, competent swimmer, when you’re faced with crashing waves twice your height and a merciless current that sweeps you off your feet, there’s not much you can do to save yourself.

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Pexels

Turbulent water is extremely exhausting to swim in. Even if you can touch the ground, you may only just manage to stumble to your feet before the next huge wave crashes over you, pulling you back into the murky waters.

That’s exactly what happened to one woman when she got caught in a strong ocean current earlier this month.

A video captured by Australian pro-surfer Mikey Wright, who was visiting Hawaii for the weekend to compete in the Pipeline Masters, shows the moment the woman’s terrifying ordeal begins.

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Instagram

At first, it just looks like a few swimmers are running into the sea – but something doesn’t add up. The waves are huge, and there are rocks jutting out everywhere.

Surely nobody would swim in such conditions?

But then, amidst panicked shouts of onlookers, it becomes clear what has happened: a woman is being swept along in the sea.

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Instagram

Someone the camera realizes what’s happening, and, thinking it’s a man in trouble, says:

“Oh, no, he’s getting dragged out.”

People can be heard screaming from the beach as the woman gets dragged further and further towards the rocks. Her head is just visible above the frothing sea, and it looks like the end for her.

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Instagram

But then a man’s voice – Mikey the surfer’s – speaks urgently from behind the camera.

He says,

“Hey he’s gonna get … he’s gonna get saved. Sinaed, hold this.”

The woman says, “You can’t save him,” but Mikey is already off. The next time the camera lifts up to focus on the beach, Mikey is running across the sand in full-on beast mode.

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Instagram

The woman behind the camera cusses, realizing that Mikey is about to put his life on the line for another person.

In a second video, the rescue plays out from start to finish.

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Instagram

Mikey can be seen racing into the sea and grabbing hold of the woman, who is still desperately trying to stay afloat.

He holds the woman in his arms and begins to run with her back towards the beach, but then another wave crashes over them, completely engulfing them.

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Instagram

This happens several times as Mikey struggles to carry the woman out of the sea, as onlookers shout urgently from the beach.

It’s a tense watch, but miraculously, Mikey manages to get the woman to the safety of the shore.

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Instagram

While it’s not known what happened to her after this, it’s safe to say that without Mikey, she most likely wouldn’t have survived this ordeal.

The video, which Mikey shared on Instagram has more than 250,000 views and 15,000 comments.

Fellow pro-surfers took to the comments to praise Mikey for his bravery and quick thinking.

Josh Kerr wrote that Mikey had pulled off an “absolutely lordish move”, while Owen Wright commented: “Powerful decision making in a crucial moment 🙏🙏❤️❤️”.

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Mikey put his whole life at risk for somebody else, and his selfless act deserves recognition.

You can watch the tense rescue video below.

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