Safari guide hailed hero in St Lucia sea rescue
The NSRI says its pink rescue buoys have saved 200 lives since the project was launched in 2017. Picture: NSRI website
Image: Supplied.
A POLISH tourist who ran into trouble in the surf at a KwaZulu-Natal beach is safe and sound after a daring rescue by a quick-thinking bystander who used a wooden log as a makeshift flotation device.
The 24-year-old Hoedspruit safari guide is now being hailed as a hero after helping to pull the man from dangerous rip currents at Jabula Beach in St Lucia on Monday afternoon.
Melinda Snyman, NSRI St Lucia station commander, said duty crew were activated at 1.36pm following eyewitness reports of a drowning in progress.
“A bystander raised the alarm by phoning the NSRI Emergency Operations Centre after finding the emergency number on an NSRI pink rescue buoy pole,” she said.
NSRI rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene, while additional crew prepared to dispatch a rescue vehicle and craft from Station 40.
When rescuers arrived, they found that the adult male tourist had already been brought safely to shore by Reuben van der Nest, assisted by another man believed to be part of the tourist’s group.
According to Snyman, van der Nest noticed the man in distress while snorkelling in the surf zone and appearing to be caught in rip currents. He ran to locate the pink rescue buoy mounted on the beach — only to discover it was missing, apparently due to theft.
However, a family who was on the beach at the time stepped in to help.. The father handed van der Nest a wooden log, about two metres long, which he used as a flotation aid.
Van der Nest entered the water with the log. Another unidentified man was already helping the struggling tourist stay afloat. Together, using the buoyancy of the log, they managed to bring him safely back to shore.
NSRI medics assessed the tourist on the beach and confirmed he was not injured and required no further treatment.
NSRI has commended van der Nest, as well as the unidentified man and the eyewitness who raised the alarm. The organisation has also appealed to the public not to remove pink rescue buoys from their poles unless in a life-threatening emergency, warning that the theft of rescue equipment can cost lives.
The National Sea Rescue Institute is a registered non-profit organisation focused on drowning prevention, education and rescue operations. Its volunteers are on call 24/7 and rely on donations and sponsorships to continue their work.