A Two-Year-Old Samsung Galaxy S8 Helped Rescue 20 People From Drowning

Although the Samsung Galaxy S8 has been on the market for two years now, it doesn’t mean that the smartphone is outdated and useless.

The device has just actually helped rescue 20 tourists from drowning in the Philippines thanks to its waterproof feature.

Local reports suggested that a boat with 20 people overturned off the coast of Philippines’ Malapascua Island around two weeks ago. The location has been known as a diving spot and probably the boat was carrying tourists to go snorkeling. On the boat, there were a local divemaster, three dive instructors, 13 foreign divers, and three Filipino crewmen.

Fortunately, Jim Emdee, one of the tourists, saw his Galaxy S8 under the boat. So he retrieved it. Thanks to its waterproof feature, Emdee used the phone to call for help.

The rescue team quickly found the tourists by tracking the GPS data of the phone. It was lucky indeed since the Galaxy S8 was the only phone among those of passengers that they could pinpoint. The Galaxy S8 still worked even until the rescue team took the passengers back to shore. Emdee was actually surprised that the phone stayed alive longer than he had thought.

In a statement, Head of Samsung Electronics Philippines, James Jung said:

Samsung recommended Galaxy users to turn on the emergency GPS locator feature when they travel. By doing this, if you are in danger, you can send an SOS signal to a maximum number of four contacts by tapping three times on the power button.