An 18-month-old toddler has been miraculously saved from the ocean after he wandered out of a tent while his parents were asleep.
Fisherman Gus Hutt thought Malachi Reeve was a doll when he saw a small figure floating in the water at Matata Beach, near Whakatane on New Zealand’s north island.
It wasn’t until Malachi let out a squeak that Mr Hutt knew he was alive and plucked him from the sea.
Malachi’s mother, Jessica Whyte, said she felt like her “heart had stopped beating” after discovering her baby boy had unzipped their tent while they were sleeping.
Speaking to NZ Herald, Mr Hutt said: “His face looked like porcelain with his short hair wetted down but then he let out a little squeak and I thought, ‘Oh God, this is a baby and it’s alive’.”
“He was floating at a steady pace with a rip in the water. If I hadn’t been there, or if I had just been a minute later I wouldn’t have seen him. He was bloody lucky, but he just wasn’t meant to go, it wasn’t his time.”
Malachi’s mother, Jessica was woken by the camp manager informing her that Malachi had been rescued from the sea.
“It was horrible in between hearing that and seeing him,” she told Stuff. “I don’t think my heart [beat] from hearing that to seeing him. I don’t think my heart worked.
“It was scary but he was breathing, he was alive. Oh God, it was amazing seeing him. I gave him a big hug.”
