A teenager from North West was one of two people who went to the rescue of a 36-year-old man caught in a rip current at Bushman’s River Mouth.
NSRI Port Alfred deputy station commander, Stephen Slade, said a 19-year-old North West went to assist the man from Alexandria, whose 12-year-old daughter also got caught in the rip.
“It has emerged that the van Wyk family, visiting on a holiday from their farm near to Lichtenberg in the North West Province, had noticed a commotion along the shoreline, near to rocks, near to the river mouth and they noticed a man in difficulty in the surf,” said Slade.
“Martie van Wyk and her 19 year old son Armand ran towards the shoreline to see what was going on.”
He said Armand launched into the surf and swam out to the man who was caught in strong currents. Slade said Armand assisted the man to stay afloat while also calming him.
Slade said as waves broached over them the man tried to hold onto Armand who avoided his grasp but at the same time was able to nudge the exhausted man towards the shore.
“An unidentified man, believed to be in his late 20’s, then launched into the surf with a body board and arriving at the casualty he gave his body board to the casualty to use to stay afloat.”
Slade said once ashore paramedics treated the man for exhaustion and for non-fatal drowning symptoms before transporting him to hospital in a stable condition.
He said the NSRI commends the actions of Nicholas Abraham “Armand” van Wyk and the unidentified man with the body board for their actions in saving a life.
