The terrifying moment a young girl was swept into the sea by a massive wave has been caught on camera. The young girl was playing on a pier with her friends at the time.
But things took a turn for the worse when the wave knocked the girl off her feet, sending her through the railings and down the side of the wall at Ilframbobe Harbour in Devon. The incident took place at around 7pm on Thursday during high tide.
A quick-thinking onlooker rushed to grab a lifebuoy as another managed to catch the girl before she was swept further out to the sea. The Ilfracombe RNLI in Devon said it responded to the incident.
It provided “casualty care” to two children before taking them home. Harbourmaster Georgina Carlo-Paat told DevonLive: “This incident is a serious reminder of the dangers of tombstoning and other high-risk activities in the harbour.
“Not only were the youths lucky not to be more seriously injured, they put their lives in danger as well as those of quick-thinking bystanders who acted when they got into trouble.
“The sea conditions were very volatile and all of the youths had been knocked off their feet on the slipway prior to the incident, but still continued to run into surging waves. Thankfully the RNLI were on exercise in the outer harbour at the time and were able to respond very quickly and tended to their injuries before escorting them all home.”
The local council has also warned about the dangers of “tombstoning” – jumping into the water – at the harbour. A byelaw exists which prohibits people from jumping, diving into and swimming the harbour without permission from the harbour master.
It protects people from risks such as altering water depths; submerged objects and rocks, and the strong currents that can rapidly sweep people away. The penalty for jumping off the harbour can be up to a £1,000 fine upon prosecution.
More dramatic footage from Devon on August 3 shows the moment the huge waves crashed down upon a car park, soaking cars and knocking people off their feet. One teenager is seen riding a bike along the tarmac before they were knocked over by a large wave.
Moments later, another teenager can be seen running into the car park before a second large wave crashed down and caused them to fall to the ground.
Screams of laughter can be overheard as the youngsters continue to play in the water. But, as the waves appear to grow bigger and bigger the car park empties of the youths.