Three terrified young people caught in a fierce rip tide while swimming off the South Shore were pulled to safety by a visitor yesterday in a dramatic rescue.

Patrick Fishel, from San Diego, California, said he dove into the water after he saw a woman desperately calling for help on Marley Beach in Warwick.

“I could just see the terror when I got close enough to see their faces,” he said. “The oldest sister asked me if I could get her sister’s hand. She was off to the right.

“When I looked to her I could just see her head above the water, bobbing up and down. I said everybody hold hands. We cannot let each other go.

“It felt like an eternity, pulling those three girls parallel to the shore – there was no way I had another five or ten minutes in me, but I knew there was no way I was letting go of those hands.

“I was just happy to be there for them and that we had pulled it off.”

While he agreed the story had a happy ending, he said more needed to be done to ensure that people are aware of dangerous conditions and stay out of the water.

“Before you even get down to the stairs, there should be signs. Do not enter that water. You could see the surge,” he said.

“I have been in that water every day for the last six days, and I have never felt that. People need to stay out of the water right now. There is no way they should have been in the water.”

Mr Fishel said he had gone swimming every morning since he arrived on the island on September 1, but had to miss yesterday’s swim for a meeting.

“We got back to the house, my brother had gone to the airport as he was flying out, and I decided I was going to head down to the beach and jump in the water for a bit and take a nap,” he said.

“I was headed down to the beach, and because I had been missing my runs, I decided I would get a little jog in.”

He said that as he approached the beach just before 1pm, he saw three figures in the water and a woman on the beach.

“I walked past, and then I stopped and looked back and the mom on the beach was shouting help and waving her arms,” he said.

“I went over to find out what was going on, and she said they couldn’t come in. They are caught in a rip current. I could see they were swimming in place and actually going backwards.”

He said he took off his shoes and his headphones and jumped into the water, swimming out to the girls, who were about 50 yards offshore.

Mr Fishel said when he reached the girls, it appeared the oldest was only about 12, while the youngest appeared to be about ten.

He told the girls to hold each other’s hands and began to pull them parallel to the shore and out of the rip current.

“I’m from San Diego and I am very aware of rip currents. They put signs directly on the beach that says don’t go in,” he said. “I know that in rip currents you have to swim out of the current, which means swimming parallel to the shore.”

He said it felt like he was in the water for 20 to 25 minutes, but looking at his phone later he realised the entire incident had taken less than ten minutes.

“When I hit the shore, I didn’t have anything left,” Mr Fishel said. “They didn’t have anything left. We were all in shock and the mom was more than grateful.

“I will never forget these girls. It was an experience that will change my life.”

He added: “We just hugged and embraced a couple of times. I wanted to get out of there and out of the scene once I knew everyone was OK.”

Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, yesterday urged the public to stay out of the water as Hurricane Earl brought dangerous conditions to the island’s waters including swells and rip currents.

“We’re asking the public – we are begging – to use common sense with their need to be daredevils,” he said.

The Department of Parks confirmed that High Surf Warning signs had been erected at south shore beaches from John Smith’s Bay to Clearwater, along with Clearwater, Turtle Beach and Cooper’s Island.