RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) – An incredible video shows a water rescue team in Wake County bringing three children trapped in the raging water to safety.
It happened Thursday afternoon in Marsh Creek along Partridge Lane in Raleigh. The children are all safe, but there were terrifying moments when they were caught on a fragile branch above the rushing water.
“I said, ‘Guys, you need to get out of here. You shouldn’t be playing here because it’s going to get worse.’ And I came back into the house maybe 15 minutes later. I heard screaming and yelling,” said neighbor Mike Kallam.
The cries for help came from Kallam’s backyard, where three children were stranded in a dangerous situation in the rushing water.
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This group of friends Kelly, Evelyn, Emma, Gavin and Andrew – aged between 8 and 12 – stopped to cross the raging waterway during their bike ride. After two crossed to the other side, the other three got stuck on the wet and slippery rocks.
“Andrew, Evie and I couldn’t get across,” Kelly described. “Andrew was holding onto a branch and then it broke. He fell, slid down and grabbed onto a tree trunk.”
Then both the children and Kallam called 911 for help.
“What should I do? Nobody can stop me from going out and doing something. That’s when we decided that we have to call the professionals here to get something done,” Kallam said.
More than 30 firefighters and lifeguards from the Raleigh Fire Department immediately launched a boat into the creek.
A video obtained by ABC11 shows rescuers holding a swimmer with a rope to help him pull the children into the large blue raft.
“The worst part was that when the firefighters arrived, Kelly was holding on to the branches but was about to slip and fall. One foot was still up and she couldn’t get up,” Evelyn said.
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Emergency responders said the children followed instructions during those uncertain moments. Wrapped in towels, the children were reunited with their parents after a terrifying afternoon.
“The response was great,” said Kallam.
This adventurous group of friends learned a lot.
“Don’t cross a body of water with rocks. At first it looks like the water is perfectly calm and you can just walk through it. But then you notice that there are rocks everywhere beneath you. And it’s not calm,” Emma said.
“You shouldn’t come here because this will happen to you,” Andrew said.
Emergency responders want everyone to take precautions.
“We are so happy that our teams were able to get the children to safety. They were quickly rescued from the water. But we don’t want to rely on that. Please stay home. Please don’t go into the water,” said Dr. Jamie Cheveralls of the Raleigh Fire Department.
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