TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews in Tampa came to the rescue of a teenage boy in distress after he became caught in Milton’s floodwaters while trying to get home, leaving him clinging to a fence.
The floodwaters on Thursday left residents across the Tampa Bay area stranded inside and outside their homes.
A group of rescues came up upon the teen, who was floating on the fence in chest-high water.
As the rescuers arrived, the boy did everything he could to get their attention.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister described the rescue that ensued.
“He was waving us down, flagging us down. Most people were saying hello; he was frantically waving his arms,” he said. “We went over, and it literally was like a scene out of the “Cast Away” movie, how he’s hanging on for dear life.”
Even though the area where the boy lives was not an evacuation zone, he and his mother left for higher ground on Wednesday. When he tried to walk home Thursday morning, he found himself stranded.
“Didn’t realize the water was going to get as flooded, as deep as it did, and he’s not a good swimmer, hence the rescue,” said Chronister.
Once the boat was in position, the boy was able to swim toward the boat, where rescuers pulled him from the water and took him to dry land.
“He hugged us. He was just so grateful we took him to some dry land,” said Chronister.
The sheriff said over 200 water rescues were made Thursday in Hillsborough County, including 135 disabled elderly people who had been evacuated to that area in order to avoid the flooding.
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