Recovery of SUV stranded in surf becomes 'comedy of errors'

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A visitor to an Australian beach captured video of a recovery effort for an SUV that ended up in the surf -- with mixed results.

A man visiting the beach in Moana, South Australia, on Friday captured video of "a bunch of amateurs" trying to rescue a 4x4 SUV that ended up in the surf during an apparent attempt to launch two jet skis on a trailer behind the vehicle.

The man says the group had already broken a winch cable before he started filming and the video shows them using a strap and a larger pickup truck to attempt to pull the 4x4 and its trailer out of the predicament.

"This is how not to do a recovery," the observer quips.

The 4x4 comes lose from the sand in the shallow water and makes it to dry land, but the trailer bounces and one of the jet skis falls sideways.

With the smaller SUV freed, the group hitches the pickup truck to the still-stuck trailer and attempts to pull it out of the surf.

The group ends up with an all new problem as the pickup's rear tires start to sink in the wet sand.

The recovery team ends up using a strap to connect the previously-recovered vehicle to the now-trapped pickup, succeeding in freeing the pickup and the trailer, but causing a jet ski to fall from the back of its perch.

"This is what you call a comedy of errors," a woman watching the scene says.

The group eventually gathers around the jet ski and lifts it onto the trailer, completing the recovery.