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A new fisherman plucked in the sea in a "miraculous" rescue after thinking he was watching a doll float past.
Gus Hutt was at the beach checking his fishing at 7:15 am on October 26 when he spotted the 18-month-old boy and reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Even then, I still thought it was just a doll," he told local newspaper the Whakatane Beacon. "His face looked just like porcelain with his hair wetted down. But then he let out a little squeak and I thought 'Oh god, this is a baby and it's alive.' "
The boy, Malachi Reeve, had been traveling to the island while they were sleeping while camping at Matata Beach on the North Island during the quiet spring season.
Murphy's Holiday Camp co-owner Rebecca Salter told The Associated Press that the rescue was "miraculous and fateful" after Hutt, a regular at the campground.
Salter said they were drinking and planning their day when the drama unfolded. They rushed to help.
"My husband came around the corner with the baby in his arms," she said. "I ran into the house and grabbed a blanket of towels and blankets so he would be warm. He was just whimpering the whole time. "
Salter said Malachi was drenched, and was very pale. It was they who had lost the boy, they said, and then they woke the parents.
"They were horrified and in disbelief," Salter said. "They were woken up to find their baby was not there. It was surreal to everyone involved. "
The boy's footprints were visible in the sand, showing where he'd wandered from the tent into the water. He'd floated about 15 meters (50 feet) before Hutt spotted him.
"If I had not been there now, I would not have seen it," Hutt told the newspaper. "He was bloody lucky but he was not meant to go. It was not his time. "
Mom Jessica Whyte told news website Stuff that's been broken down by Malachi had been found in the water.
"Oh God it was amazing," she told Stuff. "I gave him a big hug."
She said that she would like to have a look at her parents when she was there.
Police said they attended the scene along with an ambulance, and that the boy was taken to a hospital for a check-up. Police said they did not plan to take any further action in the case.
The local newspaper printed a story about the rescue last week but it took a while before it. Salter said they were not used to such attention at their quiet beach.
Hutt said Malachi was doing just fine when his parents stopped by to thank him.
"He was wriggling," he told the Whakatane Beacon. "He was just a lovely, cheeky little fella."
First Published: Nov 06, 2018 12:44 IST
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