18-05-2025
Girl caught by riptide is saved from drowning by fisherman's drone
A Florida fisherman used a drone to save a young girl from drowning in a riptide in remarkable images captured by a fellow beachgoer.
Andrew Smith, of Pensacola, was scouting for sharks when he spotted the stricken swimmer.
Unable to swim himself, Smith was desperate to help and noticed several life preservers on the beach. Using his drone, he grabbed one and flew it to the unidentified girl.
'There was this girl screaming: "Can anybody swim?"' Smith recalled to Fox 4 Now of the incident off Fort Pickens Beach.
'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 - a SwellPro Fisherman Max model - 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.
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.
