80 people form human chain to rescue family trapped in riptide

Around 80 strangers all came together after a family in Florida drifted out to sea.

Roberta Ursrey and her family were having a day out at Panama City Beach when she noticed that her sons were missing.

After looking around for her sons and their cousins, she heard them screaming from the water.

According to the Panama City News Herald, the boys were trapped by the current.

Roberta went to go into the water to save them, and while onlookers told her to stay on land, she didn't listen and went after her children.

However, shortly after entering the water, she too became trapped, along with five other family members who tried to save the boys.

One onlooker, Jessica Simmons, who was having dinner with her husband, saw the family struggle and at first thought people on the beach were pointing at a shark.

When she realised it was people stuck in the current, she found a discarded boogie board and began swimming out to save the family.

Jessica told the paper: “These people are not drowning today. It’s not happening. We are going to get them out.”

Meanwhile, Jessica's husband and some other people began a human chain, and within a few minutes 80 people were surrounding the trapped family.

The family were all safely brought back to land with the help of complete strangers.

Roberta's mother suffered a heart attack during the ordeal, while her nephew suffered a broken arm, however nobody else was hurt in the incident.

She told the publication: “I am so grateful. These people were God’s angels that were in the right place at the right time. I owe my life and my family’s life to them. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”