Teenagers Rescue 6 People Caught in Strong Rip Current in Australia
(L-R) George, Zach, Max, Harrison, Braith, and Alex. The lifesavers of six people from a dangerous rip at Kiama last Saturday evening. (Source ABC // Penny Burfitt)
A group of teenagers aged between 12-15 rescued six people from drowning on the Australian South coast, last Saturday evening.
Max Laird, Braith Davidson, George Griffin, Harrison Smee, Alex Norris, and Zach Marsden, members of Kiama Surf Life Saving Club, were boogie boarding last Saturday when they heard screaming down the shore.
George Griffen,12, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), “It was 20 minutes after the lifeguards had packed up, and we were just boogie boarding, so all 6 of us went over.”
Harrison Smee,15, said two girls, a mother and her three children, had been caught in a flash rip in the middle of the beach.
“They were having fun near the shore one minute, and next minute you hear them screaming, taken out by the rip. It was instant,” he said.
Allegedly, the mother went to the water when she realized her children were in trouble.
According to George, the family was in real danger when they arrived.
“I got to an 8, 9-year-old kid called Matt, and by the time I got to him he was completely underwater, just his hand above the surface of the water, so I was pretty worried.
“It was shocking, but we just had to do what we could,” he added.
The Kiama Surf Life-saving Club is a volunteer organization that patrols the water in the absence of lifeguards.
The teens had been out on the water training for rescue courses and their life-saving certificate when the incident occurred.
They said it helped them to put their rescue skills into practice.
The lifesavers managed to rescue all six people safely with no reported injuries.
