Incredible footage captures moment drowning young girl caught in rip current is saved by fisherman's drone
Andrew Smith, of Pensacola, was scouting the water off Fort Pickens Beach for sharks with his SwellPro Fisherman Max drone when he spotted a young girl, who was not identified, caught up in a riptide, Fox 4 Now reported.
'There was this girl screaming: "Can anybody swim?"' he recalled to the outlet.
Smith, who cannot swim, was desperate to help her when he noticed several life preservers on the beach on Thursday.
Using his drone, he grabbed one and flew it to the girl.
'I flew it out there and I missed really bad on the first drop,' he told Fox 10. 'A lady grabbed another one for me. I was pretty nervous, we flew it out there and we got it down to her.'
Video footage, shot by fellow beachgoer Robert Nay, showed Smith's second attempt of getting the floatation device down to her.
The drone can be seen dragging the device through heavy wind and gray skies as it drops to nearly water level for the girl to grab onto.
'She got it, woo!' a bystander yelled.
'She was way out there. If I didn't get her with that one, I don't know if she would have made it any longer,' Smith told Fox 10.
First responders arrived shortly after and were able to pull the girl to safety.
The young girl was swimming with two other girls when she got caught in the riptide, Nay wrote on Facebook.
A single red flag was flying on the beach that day, indicating that beachgoers should avoid going into the water.
No lifeguards are currently stationed at the beach and won't be until Memorial Day.
'[Smith] literally saved her life and bought time for fire and rescue to get there!' Nay said.
The fisherman's drone is designed to be used while fishing and has the ability to hold up to two life jackets.
'The drone has two releases on the bottom and can be used for fishing, and you can carry two life jackets on it and get to people fast. It has a camera on it too, so I could see the girl's head on the camera,' he told the outlet.
No lifeguards are currently stationed at the beach and won't be until Memorial Day.
The girl's father contacted Smith after the event, 'actually crying and thanking me,' he told Fox 4 Now.
Smith hopes in the future he won't have to use his drone to save another life, but is grateful to have been able to help.
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