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Teens' Heroic Rescue: Swimmers Save English Tourists From Drowning

January 10, 2024

Today's good news story comes from Barbados.

In a stunning display of courage and quick thinking, two Montreal teenagers, Emma Bassermann and Zoe Meklensek-Ireland, both competitive swimmers, recently became unlikely heroes while boogie boarding in Barbados.

Emma & Zoe / Belinda & Robert

The incident unfolded when the girls heard a desperate cry for help while heading in from their swim.

"I heard someone yelling for help in the distance. I was looking around for her and I spotted her, about 50 feet out from where I was," Zoe, 13, told Global News.

The distressed woman, identified as Belinda Stone from London, England, informed Zoe that her husband, Robert Stone, was even further out and struggling to swim.

Without hesitation, Zoe and 14-year-old Emma sprang into action, risking their own safety to rescue the Stones.

After towing Belinda back to shore, the girls embarked on a five or six-minute swim through challenging waves to reach Robert, who was approximately 150 feet from shore. "When we reached him, he was trying to swim but we could tell he was struggling. He was breathing very heavily," Zoe recounted. Despite the difficult conditions, they successfully brought him back to safety.

Emma shared her experience, saying, "It was a long and tiring swim. I learned from both my parents that when there is a really strong current, you never swim against it. You swim parallel to shore until it lessens or you are completely out of it; otherwise, you will be sucked out more and more."

The grateful Stones expressed their immense gratitude, with Belinda Stone stating, "We are just enormously grateful to Zoe and Emma. They saved our lives."

Watch the good news video below.