ONLY ON 3: Film crew helps save two Carolina Beach swimmers

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Swirl Films, a local production company, put the cameras down Wednesday afternoon to help save two lives at Carolina Beach.

The production company was shooting its upcoming film “A Perfect Summer” when crew members spotted two men caught in a rip current.

The crew alerted two of the film’s water safety patrol on scene, who quickly responded to the two men in need.

Witnesses say the two male swimmers were assisting a young girl on a body board, who was struggling in the water. After securing the girl, witnesses say the two men, who appeared to be in their twenties, then became victims of the strong current themselves.

“I swam to the guy that was struggling the most first and handed him my board and made sure he was OK and paddled him in,” said Travis Leftwhich, one of the men who saved the swimmers.

Leftwhich said once he and his partner got both of the swimmers to shore, they monitored their condition to make sure they were stable. He says they did not appear to have swallowed any water.

Witnesses speculate that if Swirl Films had not been on the beach, the two swimmers may have drowned.