Dramatic video shows moment RNLI rescues two boys from choppy waters under Blackpool Pier
A mum of four is urging other parents to be vigilant on the coast this summer, after a family visit to Blackpool almost ended in tragedy.
Dramatic video shows the moment two boys were left fighting for their lives as they clung desperately to Blackpool Pier amidst crashing waves.
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The footage, shared by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), shows rescuers race to save the boys after they were cut off by the rapidly rising tide on May 28.
Subby, 10, and Kizza, 12, were seconds away from drowning as they clung to the pier stanchions.
Subby's mother, Zully, is urging other parents to be vigilant on the coast this summer, after their family visit to Blackpool almost ended in tragedy.
Zully, who lives in Leeds, is sharing the traumatic experience of almost losing her son and nephew ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day this weekend.
Read more: Teenage girl awarded one of UK's highest honours for bravery after trying to save drowning boy
Zully frantically tried to wade out to the boys but feared the worst as she watched Subby’s head disappear beneath the water.
Her nephew, Ted, 21, a carer from Bradford, is shown in the RNLI’s dramatic footage released today, clinging to the pier in a desperate bid to wade out to reach the boys
Zully says: "The tide started to come in quickly and I could see the boys in the distance, they were stuck and the water was rising rapidly. A wave whacked me and hit me on the side.
"Ted turned to me and said: ‘Zully, get out, they’re too far out’. I couldn’t go back, as I knew if my son heard my voice, he’d hang on to the pier. I knew he’d cling on if he could hear my voice telling him not to let go, but by now the water was rising fast and I could see him going under.
"It didn’t feel real, it was like I was in some kind of helpless dream – a nightmare. I could see my nephew hanging on, but I could see the fear in his eyes.
"I could see my boy submerged next to the poles of the pier. I scrambled along the pole and was shouting desperately to him, but I just couldn’t get to him.
"The police came and took me out of the water. I was screaming 'I can’t get to him - that’s my son and my small nephew.'
"I was shouting at the top of my voice - we need the orange boat. At this point the boys had been hanging on for 40 minutes. I could see the water going over his head and him gasping for air, but I was struggling to see if he’d come back up again."
A 999 call was made by a member of the public, and the Coastguard requested the launch of Blackpool RNLI lifeboat. The volunteer crew were paged for the 11th time in seven days.
The D-class inshore lifeboat was on scene within four minutes. They immediately located Subby and Kizza.
The lifeboat was manoeuvred alongside the pier stanchions in turn to allow the crew to safely pull the children into the lifeboat.
With Ted higher up the pier supports, and a second crew on scene in the Atlantic 85 RNLI lifeboat now, the D-class crew made the decision out of urgency to deliver the children to paramedics waiting on the shoreline by south pier, and for the Atlantic 85 to complete the rescue of the adult.
Zully, who was not aware of the RNLI charity before the dramatic rescue, is really looking forward to meeting her family’s rescuers for the first time and has nothing but praise for them.
She said: "God bless these people who came. I can’t comprehend the fact they are just normal people with jobs and their own family, but they’d risk that to save my family.
"The crew were all living in that moment, they had no concern for all those people watching and everything going on around them. They went in there with a job to do. They don’t get enough credit for what they do. Nothing mattered to those people in that boat but saving lives and that’s incredible."
Zully had travelled to Blackpool during the May half term with her sister, sister-in-law, and her son Ted, along with their children to celebrate Eid al-Adha.
They had checked the tide online ahead of their impromptu trip, but want other people to be aware and mindful of risks.
Tide times and heights vary throughout the month, and the incoming tide can easily leave people stranded, requiring assistance.
On bigger tides, places will be cut off by the tide more quickly than normal and places usually unaffected by the tide may also be cut off.
Zully added: "When I saw Subby coming in on that lifeboat and being carried away, it was like a miracle. I thought he’d gone. He survived because of these people who are volunteers. It was like a dream come true.
"I’m a single mum and I do my best for them. I was beating myself up thinking what more could I have done. I’d checked the tide but never expected things to happen so quickly."