Human chain in Panama City Beach to save 9 people drowning pic.twitter.com/n25KvoPhxr — Susan Anne Manning (@sunbird605) July 10, 2017

Around 80 people formed a human chain to save a family caught in a riptide off a beach.

Roberta Ursrey and her husband rushed out into the ocean at Panama City Beach in Florida when they realized their sons had been swept out too far and were screaming on Saturday July 8.

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She told News Herald: ‘They were screaming and crying that they were stuck. People were saying, “don’t go out there”.

‘I honestly thought I was going to lose my family that day. It was like, “oh God, this is how I’m going”.’


Ursrey swam out to save her boys, only to get stuck herself. She said there were around nine people in total who were caught up in the riptide. Her mother was among those trapped and suffered a heart attack.



The water was around 15-feet deep.

Jessica Simmons and her husband were having something to eat when they noticed a huge crowd of people on the beach pointing in one direction.

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She immediately assumed someone had spotted a shark.

Simmons saw the group in distress, grabbed a boogie board and swam out to try and save them.

Meanwhile, her husband started a human chain. It quickly grew to 80 people, stretching around 100 yards into the water.

Simmons said when she finally reached those in distress, she saw how exhausted they were.

Ursrey’s mother’s eyes were rolling in the back of her head and she told Simmons to leave her and save the rest.

Simmons and the 80-strong chain started pulling them back to shore one by one.

She said: ‘It was the most remarkable thing to see. These people who don’t even know each other and they trust each other that much to get them to safety.’

Ursrey’s nephew suffered a broken hand and her mother is recovering in hospital.

Ursrey says she is grateful to all those who helped save their lives.