Two children and two adults who tried to help them were rescued by a fishing boat after getting into difficulty off the Norfolk coast.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident at Sea Palling at 7pm on Tuesday evening (June 20).
A member of the public also tried to help the children out of the water, however, the sea conditions made it too difficult to reach them.
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A local fishing boat that happened to be in the area went to the scene, managing to pull the four casualties from the water and deliver them to paramedics. However, the two adults were "in a bad way" according to a spokesman for Happisburgh Lifeboat Station.
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A spokesman for Hemsby Independent Lifeboat, which was also involved, said: "It is almost certain that there would have been a very different outcome if not for the quick and decisive actions of the fishing vessel."
A lifeboat from Happisburgh arrived on the scene and brought the member of the public who tried to assist the children back to shore from the fishing boat.
Ambulance, police and fire services, and Bacton Coastguard teams, also responded to the major incident.
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