A viral video footage captured a car being swept away into the sea which prompted an emergency rescue operation with the help of beachgoers in Kent.
The incident happened last Thursday, May 28, on Whitstable Beach. The driver of the Volkswagen made a mistake by parking too close to the water to unload a jet ski.
Local Lee Dolby, 40, began capturing the scene as the car sat half-submerged in the water. In the video, a man on a jet ski is seen riding around the car while another person wearing a life jacket attempts to get hold of it. However, the vehicle continued to bob about in the waves.
Lee says in the clip:
“That geezer’s just lost his car.”
While a crowd of onlookers looked in on horror, a third person arrived with a tow rope and trudged into the water, fastening the rope to the front of the car.
Eventually, they succeeded in getting the Volkswagen out of the sea with the help of a team of people including Dolby and his son Harry, 13.
Dolby, recalling the emergency operation narrated:
“I got in to help recover the jet ski trailer and my eldest boy Harry got in to recover items that floated from the car such as clothes and plastic bags, fuel cans.”
“It was quiet on the beach until this happened, which caused a gathering of onlookers” Dolby continued.
A four by four also lent a helping hand to tow the Volkswagen out of the water, according to Dolby, yet the vehicle failed to start.
“It was moved to a safe place waiting for recovery.”
After the successful rescue operation, Dolby shared the footage on social media. In the caption he wrote:
“Just popped down the beach for an hour with the boys and see this fella trying to unload his jet ski and parked a little too close. Couple of waves came and claimed his car!”
Without a doubt, the video went viral with over 3,000 shares and a handful of amused comments.
One netizen wrote:
“It’s like a James Bond movie in reverse.”