It turns out, unicorns are more seaworthy than anyone might have imagined.
That or they really are magic.
You might even say a unicorn saved the life of one 4-year-old girl in August.
Video taken by a Greek man from Patras named Petros Kritsonis in mid-August of 2020 shows a dramatic summer moment after the child was swept out to sea on her little inflatable unicorn raft.
Kritsonis was on board the Salaminomachos in the Gulf of Patras when it all happened.
The ship is a roll-on/roll-off ferry (or ro-ro), a cargo ship designed to carry cars across the gulf.
The girl’s parents said it took only a moment to lose sight of her.
All the while, the brave 4-year-old clung to her unicorn for what must have been a pretty wild ride. In fact, we wouldn’t have guessed a plastic inflatable could hold up to the waves and wind.
But fortunately, it did. At least long enough for her to be rescued by the ferry.
She appeared as just a tiny dot while passengers tried to see exactly what was going on.
But as she got closer, it became clear that it was a unicorn raft and the person riding it was very young. Of course, a rider of any age would have been in danger at that point!
Once the raft was in reach, the crew got together and threw her a rope, reeling her in to safety as passengers watched with horror – and then relief.
The crew gathered everyone they could to be sure it was a seamless rescue.
Luckily no one had to take a swim.
Once she was within arms reach, thee captain reached out and plucked her off her little raft, quickly carrying her on board the ship in her little arm floaties.
No doubt she got a once-over to make sure she was healthy and hydrated before being returned to her parents once the ferry docked.
Inside Edition reported that the raft was also salvaged.
That heroic unicorn deserved some thanks, though we’d certainly understand if she never decided to get on it again.
In the caption of his viral Facebook video, which has garnered well over 1 million views in just 3 days, Kitsonis said (in translation):
“Congratulations to the captain and the crew of the Salaminomachos ship for the actions that brought the positive ending.
The video post is not intended to blame, but to demonstrate the risk of marine toys that we all use.”
Of course, the parents immediately underwent deep scrutiny.
A story from iefimerida.gr news site said the child had been playing in the sea with her father when the wind changed and the currents swept her out farther and faster than anyone could swim.
Other beachgoers tried to help, but they worried that too much ruckus in the water would cause the inflatable to overturn and the child to drown (arm floaties can only do so much when there are waves like that).
The parents immediately notified the Coast Guard, so apparently the ferry crew – captained by Grigoris Karnesis – knew they would be intercepting the raft.
The Greek City Times reported that the girl was about 1600 feet from the shore when the crew saved her and that the captain did not realize the passenger was so young.
“…she was frozen from her fear, because the current was very strong. I put the ship in such a position so as not to affect the small buoy, I placed it in such a way that the ship was not affected by ripples, because if the buoy sank we would have serious problems,” Captain Karnesis explained.
He also said the crew tried to joke around and make faces with the child to try to relax her and make her feel safe before she was reunited with her family.
The story on iefimerida.gr also said that a psychologist on hand told the parents to return to the beach with their child immediately to have some fun. That way, the little one wouldn’t associate the water and sand (which is just about everywhere in Greece, though we don’t know if that’s where the child lives) with the trauma.
They also reported that the brave kiddo was back making sandcastles just a little while later.
Be sure to scroll down below to see Inside Editions coverage of the rescue with Kitsonis’ original footage.
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