SINGAPORE — A heartwarming meeting between a young Singaporean boy and a lifeguard on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia recently made waves on social media among excited Singaporeans and fans of long-running Australian factual television show Bondi Rescue.

The programme, which has been airing since 2006, chronicles the daily lives of the professional lifeguards who patrol Bondi Beach. They mostly deal with rescues and other incidents such as lost children, shark scares and drunk beachgoers.

In a video posted last Tuesday (Dec 26) by the official Bondi Rescue account on YouTube, the boy is seen crying and hugging a bemused Harrison "Huts" Reid, current Bondi lifeguard and cast member, while a voice narrates off-camera: "All the way from Singapore, meeting a lifeguard was at the top of this boy's bucket list."

"He just gave me the biggest hug and started bawling his eyes out," Mr Reid tells the camera in the next video clip. "I didn't really know how to take it."

Mr Reid is shown laughing and patting the boy's back as he calms down, before removing his lifeguard jersey and handing it to him.

He explains in his video interview: "We don't get that very often and... that was pretty special, knowing that, you know, I made an impact on someone's life like that.

"So I just thought, I wanna make this kid's day. He's come all the way from Singapore, so I decided to do something really special... I took my shirt off and gave it to him."

Holding the jersey, the boy gets visibly emotional again. The pair then exchange another hug, joined by a second boy.

Mr Reid then concludes that the young boy's reaction to meeting him "definitely tugged on a few strings of (his) heart".

Bondi Rescue later posted the same video on its other social media pages. Since it was posted on TikTok on Friday, it has amassed 1.7 million views, 239,700 likes, 710 comments and 12,400 saves as of Tuesday afternoon.

Netizens flocked to the comments to praise Mr Reid for his humility and kindness, as well as to gush over the "darling" encounter.

One TikTok user joked: "I love that a guy who saves lives for a living is like, 'Bro (I) can't believe I made an impact on his life'."

"Another reason to put Harrison at the top of my Favourite Lifeguards list!" wrote a fan on Facebook. "He is such a humble man. I don't think he understands how awesome he is."

Many fans agreed, calling Mr Reid and the other Bondi lifeguards "real-life superheroes". Some confessed that they would likely react in the same way if they were in the boy's position, while others shared their own excited stories of meeting the lifeguards.

"I've been watching Bondi lifeguards since I was 10," read the top comment on Instagram. "I'm turning 20 in two months and it's on my bucket list to meet the lifeguards. I'll probably have the same reaction but be a lot older."

Likewise, the top Facebook comment read: "I would cry like that too if I were to meet them. These men and women are absolutely phenomenal."

For some fans, the gift of the iconic Bondi blue jersey would be more than enough to cue "the waterworks", as Mr Reid put it. A check by TODAY on Tuesday found that the jersey is currently available on the Bondi Lifeguards online shop at A$92 (S$83).

Others were moved by the boy's "deep connection" to the lifeguard, speculating that the experience would surely inspire him to follow in the footsteps of his idols.

"I hope he comes back in 15 years and does a season with Bondi Rescue," read the top comment on TikTok.

Singaporean netizens also spoke of their love for the show and commended Mr Reid for "making (the boy's) day", while others on TikTok cheered the "Singapore mention".

According to Hello Bondi, the official guide to Bondi, Mr Reid has been lifeguarding with Waverley Council for eight years. The lifeguards employed by Waverley also patrol Bronte and Tamarama Beaches.