Umhlanga Rocks Drive closed as child airlifted to hospital

UMHLANGA Rocks Drive was closed to accommodate a medical helicopter which was called in to airlift a child to hospital following a drowning incident today (23 December).

“A child, aged 12, was found by the next door neighbour floating in the pool. They jumped over the fence, got the child out of the pool and found that the child was not breathing. They started CPR and, I believe, when the family arrived on the scene, they rushed the child to the doctor’s rooms where the doctor then called paramedics for assistance,” said Shawn Herbst of Netcare 911 Paramedics.

Once paramedics arrived, they called for a helicopter, added Herbst.

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“We dispatched two ambulances to the area. Our first ambulance was dispatched at 5.03pm and a helicopter arrived on the scene at 5.15pm,” he said.

Hebst said the doctor called for an ambulance due to the severity of the patient’s condition.

“The patient drowned and was taken to the doctor’s rooms. The patient had to be air lifted to hospital because of the critical condition the patient was in,” said Herbst.

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