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Human Chain Saves Drowning Boy Off New Zealand Coast

March 12, 2013

12 year-old Josh McQuoid was swept out to sea off a coast in New Zealand while playing with a friend near the shore.

McQuoid came really close to drowning after crashing around in the rough waters nearly 500 feet offshore.

"The waves smashed me so much, there were five really big ones, they flipped me around quite a few times, I was underwater," McQuoid told ONE news.

There were instances where McQuoid was under water for 20 seconds at a time. He did not think he was going to make it.

Paul Bailey of the local police was the first to attempt McQuoid's rescue.

"A few times under the waves I was thinking, 'Have I done the right thing charging in here? Is it going to be two bodies they're looking for," Bailey told One News.

Another police officer came up with an idea to form a human chain from the shore to McQuoid. It was successful.

McQuoid was unresponsive once brought back to sure, but revived by local authorities. He was transported to a local hospital where he made a full recovery.

This incredible rescue was caught on film by a local beach-goer.