UPDATE: Humble bodyboarder praised for Amanzimtoti mass drowning rescue
Eyewitness Dewald Burger was walking along the stretch of beach with his mother and mother-in-law at the time of the mass drowning rescue.
AN eyewitness to the mass drowning rescue that took place on Wednesday, 6 February at Inyoni Rocks, Amanzimtoti explained how the situation played out.
Two bodyboarders wasted no time in rushing out to the five bathers in distress and one bodyboarder even made two trips out, battling the nasty current each time.
Read also: Three teens rescued in mass Amanzimtoti drowning
Eyewitness Dewald Burger was walking along the stretch of beach with his mother and mother-in-law at the time of the mass drowning rescue.
“I noticed swimmers near the rocks, but they were still in shallow water. A moment later I turned back and they had been swept some 200m out to sea with the rip current,” he said. “A lifeguard rushed out with a torpedo buoy. He got to the bathers and let them hold onto the buoy.”
Dewald explained that two bodyboarders who were in the water started making their way out to the bathers in distress.
“One of the bodyboarders came back in, but the other, I believe his name is Gustav, managed to reach the teens and gave them his bodyboard to hold onto,” he said. “The same bodyboarder swam in, against the current, ran up the beach and fetched another flotation device from near the tuckshop/lifesaving clubhouse. He rushed back out with two boards, gave one board to another of the bathers to buoy themselves with and swim in.”
The joint efforts of the lifeguard and this bodyboarder saw four of the five bathers rescued. The fifth person is still missing.
“There were so many people on the beach just standing around. My mother-in-law ran to the Law Enforcement bakkie that had officers inside, parked nearby. When she asked them to help the situation they replied to her and said there was a lifeguard and that there was no need to get involved,” he said.
“My mother-in-law, Mrs Peinaar together with beach management contacted Durban Search and Rescue who arrived to search for the last missing bather,” he said.
Dewald explained that when the teens were brought up on the beach, out of the water, one of them had a lot of water that they were choking out. They were immediately rushed to Prince Mshyeni Hospital.
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