A quick-thinking sailor has rescued an eight-year-old boy who was found drifting out to see alone in an inflatable bubble on Christmas Eve.
The child had been playing in the large plastic sphere at Lazaro Beach in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, when its anchor rope snapped, sending him floating out to sea.
Rafael Graça do Prado, 32, spotted the unusual sight whilst on a boat trip with his children.
He discovered the frightened boy trapped inside the partially deflated bubble, which had already struck rocks and begun leaking.
"The boy was very desperate, he was hitting himself. He was very scared out there in the middle of the sea, alone," said do Prado, who runs a nautical tourism company.
The 32-year-old's immediate concern was whether the boy had enough oxygen inside the bubble.
"I was worried about whether he was able to breathe or not because the balls can be dangerous," he said. "There is a certain amount of time that you can breathe inside it."
The sailor first spoke to the child to keep him calm, checking his condition.
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"I asked if he was breathing well and he gave me a thumbs up," he recalled.
He then contacted his friend Welington Junior, who arrived with a better-equipped speedboat to assist with the rescue.
The rescuers decided against opening the bubble's zipper, fearing the boy might panic and jump out or that water could rush in.
Instead, they carefully attached a rope to the sphere and began towing it back to shore.
"We put a rope through the bubble and dragged it as fast as we could, because we couldn't go too fast, or we could hurt the boy," do Prado explained.
The operation required delicate handling to prevent further damage to the already punctured bubble.
Upon reaching the beach, the boy was reunited with his distraught family.
"We brought him to the beach and the family was very desperate, crying," do Prado said.
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The child had been playing in the large plastic sphere at Lazaro Beach in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, when its anchor rope snapped, sending him floating out to sea.
Rafael Graça do Prado, 32, spotted the unusual sight whilst on a boat trip with his children.
He discovered the frightened boy trapped inside the partially deflated bubble, which had already struck rocks and begun leaking.
"The boy was very desperate, he was hitting himself. He was very scared out there in the middle of the sea, alone," said do Prado, who runs a nautical tourism company.
The 32-year-old's immediate concern was whether the boy had enough oxygen inside the bubble.
"I was worried about whether he was able to breathe or not because the balls can be dangerous," he said. "There is a certain amount of time that you can breathe inside it."
The sailor first spoke to the child to keep him calm, checking his condition.
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"I asked if he was breathing well and he gave me a thumbs up," he recalled.
He then contacted his friend Welington Junior, who arrived with a better-equipped speedboat to assist with the rescue.
The rescuers decided against opening the bubble's zipper, fearing the boy might panic and jump out or that water could rush in.
Instead, they carefully attached a rope to the sphere and began towing it back to shore.
"We put a rope through the bubble and dragged it as fast as we could, because we couldn't go too fast, or we could hurt the boy," do Prado explained.
The operation required delicate handling to prevent further damage to the already punctured bubble.
Upon reaching the beach, the boy was reunited with his distraught family.
"We brought him to the beach and the family was very desperate, crying," do Prado said.
Find Out More...