People Struggle To Pick Out Boy Drowning In Swimming Pool Before He Is Rescued

Being a lifeguard seems like a great job: you get to sit in the sun all day, take occasional dips in the pool and be confident that nothing is actually going to happen.

99.99 percent of the time, if not more, absolutely nothing does happen. It is, of course, the 00.01 percent of the time that you are there for, so you better be ready if and when something needs to be done because the high likelihood is that it'll need to be done quickly.

Well, that's exactly what this lifeguard did do - and in frankly amazing circumstances - as the video above shows.

While the rescue itself is fairly regulation - he dives into the pool and gets the kid in distress out - it is the unbelievable spot that deserves the commendation.

Even with the benefit of repeat viewings, it is pretty difficult to spot just what is going on in the pool. It just looks like a normal day at the office, with children frolicking and parents playing along.

The lifeguard, however, sees something different. On the left hand edge of the screen, a kid has gotten himself into distress and is barely managing to keep his head above water, vainly attempting to wave to draw attention to himself.

It's imperceptible, but the lifeguard spots it, blows his whistle and flings himself into the water with the floatation device, rescuing the kid and saving the day.

The video was initially published on Lifeguard Rescue, a Youtube channel that specialises in, well, lifeguard rescues.

Describing themselves simply as "Lifeguards saving lives!" they have managed to garner over 30,000 followers and 34 million views, quite impressive given the, shall we say, limited scope of their project.

via GIPHY

Truly, on Youtube, there is a market for anything.

The commenters were full of praise for the lifeguard, but wondered whether the kid should have been allowed into the deep end of the pool without his rubber tube.

"Those rubber rings are the reason you have so many drowning incidents - you should remove them," wrote one.

"They allow people that cant swim to get well out of thier depth. It is only a matter of time before your lifeguards miss a kid that drowns."

Another added: "There should be some sorta demonstration of swimming ability before ya get to take your tube into the deep end."

"Non swimmers should have like red inner tubes. that way l.g. knows whos who and who shouldn't be in the deep end."

Nathan Standley

Nathan Standley is a freelance journalist and LADBible contributor. He graduated from Durham University with a degree in Anthropology before going on to do a Master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Sheffield. He also writes articles for The Versed and is the Cultural Editor of The Common Sense Network.