A fisherman has rescued an 18-month-old boy he found floating in the sea at a New Zealand beach. The toddler, named Malachi Whyte, was miraculously still breathing and has made a full recovery.
Malachi was scooped out of the sea by Gus Hutt, a regular camper at Murphy's Holiday Camp in the Matata Beach region, on Friday October 26.
"As he floated past I thought he was a doll," Hutt told the Whakatane Beacon.
"His face looked just 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'."
Hutt found the young child on Friday while returning to check his fishing lines around 7:15am.
The fisherman and his wife, Sue, quickly hurried the child to the nearby Murphy's Holiday Camp. It was there that staff were able to determine that Malachi was a member of a family who were staying out in a tent at the camp.
Shane and Beck Salter, who run Murphy's Holiday Camp, told BuzzFeed News that emergency services were called within moments. Shortly afterwards the couple found Malachi's family and alerted them.
"They rushed to our house at around the same time as the first responders arrived," they said in a statement. "The ambulance arrived soon after and assessed him and proceeded to take both the toddler and his parents to Whakatane hospital where he was checked over and given the all clear."
But how did the toddler end up in the ocean?
His mother Jessica Whyte told Stuff.co.nz that the boy had slipped out of their tent at the holiday camp and ran into the ocean. According to Jessica, Malachi had been trying to run into the ocean the day before, but she was there to stop him.
"It was horrible in between hearing that [Malachi had been found] and seeing him," said Whyte. "I don't think my heart beat from hearing that to seeing him. I don't think my heart worked."
Whyte said she expected some parents to judge her but wanted to stress the importance of securing your tent if you're camping with family.
"Zip your tents up and zip them up nice and high if you've got a child that can reach," she said.
Malachi was largely unfazed by the ordeal and is still "definitely himself."
"Maybe he'll be more aware of water," said Whyte.