Have you ever stumbled upon something unexpected while exploring the outdoors? It could be a unique seashell, a tree with an interesting shape, or even a perfect stone. Well, imagine the surprise of a group of schoolchildren and their teacher, Park Lee, when they discovered a mysterious object while cleaning a beach. To their amazement, it turned out to be a camera that had been lost underwater for two years!
According to the BBC, this astonishing find happened on a beach in Taiwan. The camera had been covered in barnacles and shells, making it almost unrecognizable. But here’s the truly incredible part – despite its time underwater, the camera was still in perfect working condition, all thanks to its waterproof case.
The schoolchildren and their teacher were determined to find the owner of the camera. They quickly took to Facebook, and their post went viral with nearly 13,000 shares in just one day. Through the power of social media, they managed to track down the camera’s rightful owner.
When the camera was turned on, everyone was stunned to discover that not a single drop of water had entered it during its underwater journey of hundreds of kilometers. Even more astonishingly, the camera was still charged and functioning perfectly.
Mr. Lee, the teacher, admitted there were initial doubts about whether they should go through the photos on the camera and share them on Facebook. However, it seemed like their only chance of finding the owner. Since some of the pictures were taken in Japan, they wrote their Facebook post in both Chinese and Japanese to increase the chances of reaching the right person.
To everyone’s delight, within just 24 hours, they successfully tracked down the owner of the camera. Serina Tsubakihara, the camera owner, expressed her disbelief in a Facebook post, saying, “I still can’t believe this is happening. In 2015, while diving in Ishigaki island in Okinawa with my friends, I accidentally lost my camera underwater, never to be found. However, almost three years later, it was discovered in Taiwan by elementary students during a beach clean event!”
Ms. Tsubakihara plans to travel to Taiwan in June to retrieve her camera and personally express her gratitude to the people who found it. This heartwarming story goes to show that sometimes life surprises us in the most remarkable ways.
