A Tennessee mother of two was killed over the weekend after a “human chain” she reportedly helped form to rescue a pair of beachgoers in Alabama went awry.

Karen Graham, 54, was on a girls’ trip with friends at the beach in Fort Morgan on Saturday when they got word that someone in the water needed help, NBC affiliate WPMI reported.

“Someone started hollering for help, and Karen took off running to help,” Graham’s mother Laura Carrigan told the outlet.

She and about 20 other people quickly banded together and held hands to form a human chain, with Graham at the very front of the line, and they entered the water to make their way to the person calling for help, according to WPMI.

At some point, however, the chain fell apart, leaving those involved “in distress.” The Coast Guard reportedly said that it sent a response boat to the scene from Dauphin Island, but all rescues were made by local responders with Fort Morgan Fire Rescue. FULL STORY HERE