Three surfers are being hailed as heroes for saving children that were pulled a dangerous distance off the Hawaii coast.
The rescue took place last Saturday at a beach a few miles from Honolulu. The surfers, Tzvika Elias, Yair Naftali and Gabi Liptz, all Israelis, were out enjoying the stronger than normal waves when they came upon eight kids aged twelve to fourteen.
The children were much further out than they should have been and were in obvious trouble against the waves. They had been stranded in the water after being pushed away from the safety of the shore.
Tzvika Elias was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying, “As we neared the children we saw that they had been swept out to sea and were being pounded by the huge waves .. On the shoreline we saw the mothers watching powerless as their children were drowning in front of them. Yair and I, who were at that point together in the water, tried with all our might to reach the group to try to get them away from the strong waves.”
The three surfers showed their courage and battled the pounding waves for over 40 minutes to rescue each one of the stranded children. The water conditions did not improve and hampered the surfers rescue attempts, often having the child they were helping swept away from them.
Emergency services were called by the spectators on the shore. While they arrived to see the surfers doing their job, they weren’t able to help due to the strength of the waves. Yair was quoted by the JPost, “In the distance we saw the local emergency services arriving to help with the rescue, but because the waves were so high, all that they could do was watch as we tried to get the children out of the water.”
One at a time, each child was eventually brought back to shore by the superhero surfers expending tons of energy each time.
This miraculous rescue has all the hallmarks of being an answered prayer. Thanks to God for sending and acting through those three heroes at a perfect time to bring the children back to safety.
