Wooden Pole to the Rescue

Melinda Snyman, NSRI St Lucia station commander, said: At 13h36, Monday, 9 February, NSRI St Lucia duty crew were activated following eyewitness reports of a drowning in progress at Jabula Beach, St Lucia.

A bystander raised the alarm by phoning NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) – finding the NSRI EOC’s emergency number on an NSRI pink rescue buoy pole.

NSRI rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene while NSRI St Lucia duty crew responded to our NSRI St Lucia station 40 rescue base to prepare to dispatch our NSRI rescue vehicle and an NSRI rescue craft.

On arrival on the scene NSRI rescue swimmers found an adult male Polish tourist had been rescued by a male bystander Good Samaritan assisted by another man.

NSRI medics attended at the scene where the patient was medically evaluated and it was determined that the casualty man was not injured and he required no further assistance.

The bystander Good Samaritan man, Reuben van der Nest, had noticed the casualty in distress in the water, appearing to be caught in rip currents while snorkelling in the surf zone.

The Good Samaritan man quickly searched the beach finding the NSRI pink rescue buoy pole but sadly the pink buoy is missing in what we believe to have been from a recent theft.

A family, on the beach at the time, it appears, had located a wooden log, about 2 meters long, nearby on the beach, that the dad of that family had handed to the Good Samaritan, Reuben, that he used as floatation.

Entering the water, armed with the floating wooden log, Good Samaritan Reuben reached the casualty and, assisted by another unidentified man, they were able to rescue the casualty man safely to the beach – using the wooden log as a floatation device.

Reuben and his wife Petra are South African Safari Guides.

Reuben has told NSRI that he and his wife happened to be at the beach when they noticed the man in difficulty.

Reuben entered the water, armed with the wooden log, to go to the man’s assistance.

Another man, unidentified, who is believed to be part of the tourist group that the casualty man was with, had also entered the water and he was helping the casualty man to stay afloat.
When Reuben reached them they used the floatation of the wooden log and together they rescued the man safely to the shore.

The eyewitness who raised the alarm is commended.

NSRI has commended Good Samaritan Reuben van der Nest, age 24, from Hoedspruit, for his quick thinking and the ingenuity of using the make-shift floating device (in the form of the wooden log) and we commend the unidentified man who assisted in this rescue of the Polish tourist.
Their combined efforts contributed to saving the Polish man’s life.

NSRI are appealing to the public not to remove NSRI pink rescue buoys from their poles unless intending to use the rescue floatation pink buoy in a critical life saving emergency.