A five-year-old boy and his gran breathed a sigh of relief when they were rescued after drifting more than two miles out to sea on a lilo.
Wind and currents swept the lad far from the shore as he lay on the inflatable mattress on Sunday (29 Jun).
His grandmother spotted him drifting away and went into the water to try to reach him, but she found herself unable to swim back.
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The pair ended up about two nautical miles (2.3 miles) from the shore, according to the Italian Coastguard.
Footage shows 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, as reported by Need To Know.
The scare took place off Castellammare di Stabia, in the Bay of Naples.
The boy’s grandfather fell 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, floatation 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!”
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