A 3 year old girl in Greece was carried out to sea due to high winds after climbing on an inflatable unicorn float. The toddler climbed aboard the float at the beach in the town of Antirrio in Southern Greece on Monday and was quickly taken out to sea before her parents could react, according to Iliana Magra of MSN.
Grigoris Karnesis, a veteran Greek ferryboat captain couldn’t believe his eyes when he first spotted the child sailing on the float far out at sea by herself.
Based on where she was spotted, the captain estimated she had been drifting for at least 20 minutes. Reports stated, beachgoers tried to row her in but the current was far too strong.
The float moved so fast, so without a chance to think, he quickly raced to bring his 331 foot long ferry alongside the unicorn float and rescue the girl. As he became closer to the float, the young girl’s screams became louder.
It was a risky maneuver on Karnesis’ part. The ferry is a huge vessel, and could have crushed the float, or popped it, if he had gotten too close. So he cut the front engine and worked to “create a lake” as he described it.
He then lowered the ramp on the back of the ferry that is used for cars, and his brother Vasilis Karnesis scooped the girl up from the float.
A passenger on the ferry captured the rescue on video below. Petros Kritsonis, 45, who posted it online on Monday, spread the heroic rescue of the girl throughout the internet.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave his thanks to the captain and the shipmates for their successful rescue.