World's largest rubber duck is deflated early after 'malfunctioning'

The World's Largest Rubber Duck, affectionately known arsenic 'Mama Duck,' made a melodramatic entrance—and aboriginal exit—from South Carolina's Myrtle Beach. 

The towering 60-foot inflatable was intended to enactment implicit the play to rise consciousness astir drowning prevention, arsenic portion of National Water Safety Month.

But precocious winds caused a teardrop successful the duck's side, forcing organizers to deflate and battalion her up earlier than planned.

Despite the abrupt departure, the event's ngo continued astatine Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Park, wherever acquisition activities and information resources were inactive offered to the public.

Craig Samborski, the event's Head Duck Wrangler, emphasized the duck's symbolic relation successful promoting vigilance astir water. 

'You know, I anticipation seeing the duck, each clip they deliberation astir seeing the duck it besides jars their representation about, 'Hey h2o information is important' and it truly is, there's a batch of things we tin bash to forestall h2o information accidents,' Samborski told WMBF.

Not conscionable with swimming, but with boating and what not, and the duck is conscionable a neat, iconic awesome that mightiness punctual america of that a batch erstwhile we request to cognize that the most,'

The inaugural besides included escaped aquatics acquisition sign-ups for children successful Horry, Georgetown, and Williamsburg counties—an effort to marque lifesaving acquisition much accessible to section families. 

David Byrd, CEO of the YMCA of Coastal Carolina, told WPDE, 'Put your phones down and support your eyes up due to the fact that arsenic kids travel retired they wanna person fun, they wanna play, they volition enjoy, but parents request to beryllium highly inaugural oregon a caretaker needs to beryllium highly attentive with those kids for sure.'

The Myrtle Beach Fire Department underscored the urgency of h2o safety, noting that dozens of rescues and hundreds of hazard advisories are issued each year.

Volunteers and metropolis officials echoed the sentiment that Mama Duck helped spark important conversations, adjacent if she couldn't enactment the afloat duration. 

'It's disappointing she had to permission early,' 1 YMCA unpaid told WPDE, 'but radical are talking—and that's the goal.' 

Organizers are already moving connected plans to bring the duck backmost adjacent year. 

In the meantime, residents tin entree ongoing information materials done the YMCA's Splash Safe online hub.