A group of fishermen battled huge waves to save three people trapped in a houseboat during a massive storm off the Florida coast, and someone caught all the action on video.
Three friends took their boat out in the Panama City Marina to catch some local red snapper, but ended up reeling in a few waterlogged people.
Travis Brady said that a storm rolled in while they were fishing on Friday night, and the calm sea became incredibly choppy.
The waves turned into six-foot monsters, which caused the group to head back to land for their safety.
“Within 15 minutes we were in five-foot, six-foot waves,” he remarked.
They were on the way back to the marina when Brady and his buddies saw a houseboat that was almost totally submerged in the water.
The foiled fishermen braved the dangerous water to get close to the boat, when they saw a smaller craft reach the wreck first.
That’s when Jordan Boyd leapt into the water and broke open a window to free the three people trapped in the houseboat.
“He’s the true hero of the story,” Brady said. “He without hesitation was just in the water helping those people.”
Brady and company threw life vests to the houseboat occupants, Boyd, and one other man, who had knocked into the raging water from a pontoon boat.
They reeled in all five of them in and brought them all to shore in their boat.
“It restores your faith in humanity, makes you really reflect on the things that are important in life,” Brady said about the rescue.
‘I’m going to try not to get emotional, but it was an intense moment,” he told local news outlet WJHG.
“Ultimately, I’m just going to say it came down to God putting us in the right place at the right time.”
“I’ve never been super-religious but today was just a super eye-opening moment for me, and I just feel like divine intervention puts you in the right place at the right time,” he repeated.
Meanwhile, in nearby Pensacola, Florida residents were no safer from the storm on land.
Sheriff’s Deputy William Hollingsworth was helping stranded motorists escape rapidly rising waters on Friday, when he aided a man who was struggling to stay above the water on a four lane highway.
When he reached the man, identified only as “David,” the pair were swept underwater for around thirty seconds and sucked into a drainage pipe.
Miraculously, they emerged from the water underneath the highway at the pipe’s opening, which was at least 100 feet away.
The footage was all captured on Hollingsworth’s body camera. “David, can you believe what just happened to us? Just breathe. Just breathe,” the deputy can be heard saying.
“Oh, thank you Jesus! I thought I was dying,” David replied. “When I came out, you were right behind me.”
“Me and you man,” he continued as they grasped hands. “That’s an experience for life. I appreciate you, brother.”
