Toddler Found Alive Floating In The Sea By Fisherman In New Zealand

A local fisherman is being hailed a hero after he rescued an 18-month-old boy floating in the sea at a New Zealand beach. The toddler, named Malachi Whyte, unbelievably was still breathing and has since made a full recovery.

Malachi was scooped out of the sea by Gus Hutt, a regular camper at Murphy’s Holiday Camp in the Matata Beach region, on Friday October 26 at 7:15am.

The fisherman and his wife, Sue, quickly hurried the child to the nearby Murphy’s Holiday Camp. It was there that staff were able to determine that Malachi was a member of a family who were staying out in a tent at the camp.

The child had been in a tent at the camp with his parents. He opened the zipper and snuck out while they were sleeping. Emergency services responded and took the child to a nearby hospital. Hutt’s wife, Sue, ran to tell the parents after speaking with the camp’s managers.

“She ran to the tent and just shook it and asked, ‘Where’s your baby? We just pulled one from the sea.’ And the mother just screamed,” Hutt said.

“He was bloody lucky, but he just wasn’t meant to go,” he said. “It wasn’t his time.”

Question is, how does a toddler end up in the sea in the first place? His mother Jessica Whyte says that the boy had slipped out of their tent at the holiday camp and ran into the ocean. According to the mum, Malachi had been trying to run into the ocean the day before, but she was there to stop him.

“It was horrible in between hearing that [Malachi had been found] and seeing him,” said Whyte. “I don’t think my heart beat from hearing that to seeing him. I don’t think my heart worked.”

Jessica went one to stress the importance of securing your tent if you’re camping with family. “Zip your tents up and zip them up nice and high if you’ve got a child that can reach,” she said. “Maybe he’ll be more aware of water.”

Now that’s one lucky little boy if we ever saw one!!

Images: Pixabay