Firefighters and beachgoers banded together to rescue three manatees that washed up on a Florida beach Wednesday afternoon.
Clearwater Fire and Rescue officials say as many as seven manatees originally beached themselves, but only three remained ashore when firefighters arrived.
"The manatees may have been pushed ashore from the shallow water because of high winds and waves that had moved through the area shortly after 3 this afternoon," the department posted on Facebook along with a series of photos and videos detailing the rescue.
A large crowd of spectators gathered as nearly a dozen good Samaritans – both men and women of all ages – assisted firefighters by pushing the beached manatees, inches at a time, back into the Gulf of Mexico.
