PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL-According to reports from Panama City Beach Police,  almost 100 people have been pulled from the gulf since Friday, July 12. All of which were saved when beachgoers formed a human chain to save the stranded swimmers.

On Sunday, July 14, Shelly Callaway was greeted with a strange sight when she got to work at the Treasure Island Resort. What she witnessed were people lined up along the pool railing, forming a human chain to reach two swimmers who had gotten caught in the rough current. 

“I immediately ran over to see what was going on, and there was two people that had actually… they went so far out past the waves, it was a double red flag, that they could not, the current was so rough, that they could not literally swim back in,” Callaway said. “There must have been 50 to 100 people holding hands, lined up from the beach-side out to the waves so they could help the rescuers and help the people come to shore.” 

At the time of the incident, double red flags were flying, meaning that it is illegal to enter the water. 

“You can actually be given a criminal citation or even placed under arrest and taken to jail,” said Sgt. Mike Morris of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Surf Rescue. “We want to avoid that and just have people stay out of the water for their own safety.”

Though their actions were heroic, Bay County Sheriff’s Officials say that the best thing to do if you see a swimmer in distress is to call 911. While no one was severely hurt, several of the civilians who participated in the rescue needed to be rescued themselves.

“I know that seeing somebody in trouble while you’re on the sand is a heart-wrenching thing to go through,” said Sgt. Morris. “But whenever a deputy gets on scene, if there’s already people going out there to help, that’s going to add more victims.”