Brave Richards Bay girl saves little sister

THE brave act of saving her younger sister from drowning almost cost a heroic 12-year-old her life at Pelican Island on Saturday (6 February) morning.

Beth Laas and her six-year-old sister Erin were playing in shallow water on a sandbank while their father, Dries, was out on his surfboard a short distance away.

‘Some other surfers and I were in the water not 50m away from the girls,’ said Dries.

‘There was no sign of trouble at all, but as I approached them I noticed something was amiss. They were clearly struggling and I immediately realised they were in serious distress.’

With the tide coming in, the girls had headed back to the beach, but Erin disappeared under the water as they encountered a deep channel.

Beth, popular headgirl at Richards Bay Primary School, immediately came to the rescue and repeatedly pushed her sister towards the surface, but in the process swallowed a great deal of water.

‘I have never been so afraid in my life seeing what was unfolding in front of my eyes. Unadulterated fear, that’s the only way I can describe it,’ said Dries.

He and the other surfers raced to the girls’ rescue and pulled them onto their boards. By then Beth had stopped breathing.

‘To my great relief, we managed to get her breathing again while she was still in the water. She was coughing up foam and water.’

A group effort quickly marshalled resources such as the Richards Bay NSRI and Netcare 911 paramedic Richard Schouten.

‘Everyone was really fantastic. Members of the Pelican Island Surf Riders were such a huge help. They controlled the traffic and called the NSRI as well as the ambulance. It was amazing.’

‘I only hope this incident will again make people aware of the dangers of water,’ said the father.

‘Both my daughters are able swimmers, but it goes to show how quickly things can go wrong.

We were keeping an eye on them all the time, but it happened so quickly and we very nearly realised it too late.’

‘This was an act of mutual bravery from both of them,’ he said.

‘They had the presence of mind to stay together and Beth didn’t give up on her sister. I am extremely proud of both of them.’

Beth was taken to Netcare The Bay Hospital for observation and yesterday (Sunday) was reported to be in good health.

The Zululand Observer has in the past reported on the dangers at Pelican Island and Bay Hall.

On New Year’s day, a 12-year-old girl and a man in his 30s drowned under similar circumstances, victims of one of the many deeper channels that criss-cross the bathing areas.