Boys rescued from nearly drowning in flooded Dallas creek

DALLAS -- It was only a matter of moments before a group of five boys would have drowned, CBS Dallas station KTVT-TV reports.

A group of first responders acted quickly and pulled the boys out of a flooded creek in Dallas Thursday.

When firefighters pulled the last of five boys from the creek's rushing waters, they knew they had accomplished something special.

"For the fire department and the police department to work together and get all these kids out, and everybody went home safe, that was pretty much miraculous," Dallas Fire Department Lt. Robert Brey said.

Brey heads the department's swift water rescue team that saved the lives of the five middle schoolers.

He said the boys were overcome by exhaustion from holding on to whatever they could so they wouldn't drown.

He said the water was fierce.

"The water rose approximately 2 foot in 10 minutes, so it was really going," Brey said.

It's unclear how the boys ended up in the creek to begin with.

Dallas Independent School District officials confirmed that they had been skipping class.

They may not have gone to school, but they certainly learned a hard life lesson they won't soon forget.

"That's usually not a happy ending when you have that many kids go into a creek that's that swollen," Brey said.

The boys are all said to be recovering well at Children's Hospital.