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A little boy and his grandmother were swept two miles out to sea on a windy day while using an inflatable mattress to enjoy the warm weather.
The five-year-old boy was lying on the inflatable when his grandmother spotted him drifting away.
She wandered into the water to reach him, but couldn’t make it back to shore. The pair then drifted two nautical miles out to shore.
Footage showed how a coastguard with a rubber ring around his torso reached the lad in the middle of the sea.
The youngster was lifted onto a patrol boat, where he was reunited with his grandmother, who had been rescued moments earlier.
The scare took place off Castellammare di Stabia, in the Bay of Naples.
The boy’s grandfather had fallen ill on the beach during the ordeal but received assistance.
After reaching the shore, the rescued pair were handed over to the emergency services for a check-up.
The Italian Coastguard said it ‘continues to urge the utmost caution and reminds the public: avoid using inflatable mattresses, flotation devices or small rubber dinghies in strong winds’.
The boy’s dad, Gioacchino D’angelo, said: ‘I want to thank you for saving my son and my mum. Hats off to you, thank you so much!’
In 2020, a four-year-old girl on a big inflatable unicorn was swept half a mile out to sea in Greece.
The child, who was in the sea off the coast of Antirrio, Corinth, had reportedly ‘escaped her parents’ attention’ and floated away.
Local media reports said that when they realised their daughter was out of sight, her parents contacted the port authorities, who alerted the captain of the local ferry, the Salaminomachos.
The captain found the child in the middle of the sea and manoeuvred the inflatable unicorn to safety.
The girl was returned to her parents unharmed, but local media reported it was not the first time that beach-goers had been swept out to sea.
An elderly man apparently fell victim to the strong sea current on an inflatable mattress.
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