A man was “miraculously” rescued 2.5 miles from land after being surrounded by dolphins who are believed to have helped him after he was swept underwater for twelve hours off the coast of Ireland, BBC reported.
The man remained in the icy waters off Tralee Bay, Ireland, and was rescued on Sunday in what an RNLI volunteer called a “miracle”.
The man, believed to be in his early 30s, was pulled from the freezing water by a Fenit RNLI lifeboat at 8.30pm, while being surrounded and potentially protected by a pod of dolphins.
The hypothermic and exhausted man said he had attempted to swim more than 5 miles from the shore of Castlegregory Beach in southwest Ireland to Mucklaghmore Rock, but was not quite prepared.
He was found more than 12 hours after his departure, wearing nothing more than a tiny swimsuit. The pod of dolphins were still swimming around him.
Fenit RNLI said the crew spotted a pod of dolphins about two and a half miles off Castlegregory beach, which led them to discover the desperate swimmer.
The crew pulled the man from the water and brought him back to shore. The man was still, unbelievably, conscious, and was met by an ambulance and immediately transported to hospital.
Finbarr O’Connell, RNLI coxswain, also emphasized the dolphins who had reportedly circled the swimmer but were not acting aggressively, perhaps in an effort to protect him or get him back to safety.
There were a lot of dolphins around. They may have helped him in one way or another, who knows?
Finbarr O’Connell, RNLI coxswain
Rescuers who first saw the man when they arrived on the scene thought they had seen a seal floating in the water, but the hypothermic and fatigued swimmer managed to raise an arm to call for help.
