A Cuban identified as Carlos Fong rescued a father and his two minor children who were being swept away by a strong ocean current, in an operation that he documented in real-time from his fishing boat and published on his TikTok account.
The three videos that Fong uploaded to the platform on July 21 show, in less than two minutes, the desperation of the rescuer as he struggles against a current so strong that the engine of his boat could barely make headway. In the footage, his distress can be heard as he searches for one of the minors: "I can't see the other child. Family, I can't see the other child. Ah, I see him, I see him. He's reaching the shore because he has a float."
In the second clip, Fong manages to get the children out of the water while warning his followers: "We're missing one, we're missing one and this isn't moving forward, look at the current, family, and we're missing a girl; there's already a strong current here that could drown her if I don't bring her back."
The third video, now with the three victims safe, reveals a detail that underscores the severity of the situation: the father was pushing his two children because he no longer had the strength to keep himself afloat. "In other words, he was pushing them because he couldn't go on. His two children," Fong explained.
Upon confirming that everyone survived, the Cuban fisherman concluded with a mix of relief and humor: "Look at today's catch; we fished for people." Before saying goodbye, he issued a straightforward warning: "Family, this shows you that it’s dangerous to get caught in the current."
The three videos accumulated more than 150,000 combined views on TikTok, with the second clip exceeding 57,100 views and the third one attracting the highest level of relative engagement.
The rescue of Fong adds to a series of heroic acts performed by Cubans at sea in recent years. In October 2025, doctor Yaismel Corrada Valdés jumped into the sea in Pinar del Río to assist a fisherman attacked by a shark.
In June 2023, Ariel Romero Velázquez passed away in Miami Beach while attempting to save an 11-year-old girl and her father. At the end of 2020, lifeguard Darián Oscar Leonard Pino drowned in Cayo Coco, Ciego de Ávila, after rescuing four Russian tourists who were caught in the current.
Unlike those cases, the rescue of Carlos Fong had a completely successful outcome: all three victims survived. "Thank God we were able to save her, thank you, thank you for that. Blessings to the family," said the fisherman at the conclusion of the operation.
Filed under: