Drowning teenager rescued by surfer but dies later in hospital

02 January 2018 - 19:43 By Timeslive
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Hospital bed.
Hospital bed.
Image: Tyler Olson/ 123RF.com

A surfer rescued a teenager who got into difficulty while swimming at Melkbosstrand north of Cape Town on Tuesday morning‚ but the 17-year-old youth died later in hospital‚ according to the National Sea Rescue Institute.

It said it appeared the teen‚ who was from Malmesbury‚ had gotten into difficulty while swimming and his friend‚ 18‚ had tried to help him but also got into difficulty.

The surfer‚ Sheldon Brissett‚ from Durban‚ had noticed the incident and rushed to assist the teenager who was not breathing and in cardiac arrest‚ the NSRI said. Brissett had then started performing CPR on the teenager.

“NSRI Melkbosstrand lifeguards‚ arriving at the beach for their duty day‚ which begins at 10h00 each day‚ saw the commotion on the beach and rushed to assist taking over the CPR efforts.

“An NSRI paramedic then arrived and CPR efforts continued and the NSRI Melkbosstrand duty crew arrived and ER24 ambulance services‚ Community Medics‚ Life Healthcare response paramedic‚ Law Enforcement‚ Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services‚ WC Government Health EMS‚ Blouberg Surf Lifesaving lifeguards‚ the SA Police Services and Melkbosstrand Neighbourhood Watch assisted on the scene.

“The teenager was stabilised and transported to hospital by ambulance in a critical condition but sadly succumbed once at hospital despite ongoing efforts by doctors and nurses to resuscitate him he was declared deceased‚” the NSRI said‚ adding that police had opened an inquest docket.

The teenager’s 18-year-old friend was unharmed in the incident.


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