Off-duty lifesavers in dramatic rescue
IT is being credited as a splitsecond decision that saved the lives of three people.
Darkness had all but fallen on Saturday night when Maudsland’s Glen Mackenzie heard screams and sprang into action, diving into the water in jeans with no rescue gear.
He is being hailed a hero for his haste.
A family – mum, dad and young daughter – were caught in a rip at Main Beach, struggling to stay afloat and disappearing from view.
Mr Mackenzie, a volunteer lifesaver, was walking to his daughter’s Nippers graduation at Southport Surf Club about 6pm.
“This little kid came up yelling ‘My sister’s stuck in a rip’,” the 44-year-old plumber said. “I’d heard a scream maybe a minute earlier but I assumed it was just kids on the beach playing.
“I put two and two together real quick and ran to help.”
Mr Mackenzie swam out to find the girl being kept afloat by her father.
“He looked pretty exhausted so I took the girl off him thinking I’d swim back into the beach but it was quite challenging with the rip and being in jeans,” he said.
“I kept her afloat for maybe three or four minutes with the jeans dragging me down.”
Meanwhile, Mr Mackenzie’s wife Heidi – who was with him – called the surf club for backup. Nearby, off-duty lifesaver Jason Free was having dinner in the surf club when people came in yelling about the trio needing help. It was virtually pitch black when Mr Free, 44, grabbed a rescue board and dived in.
“On the way out I didn’t know what to expect – I could see three heads bobbing in the water and was thinking the worst,” he said. “It was all a bit of a blur, all of a sudden there was a kid in front of me.”
Mr Free, a surgeon from Southport, took the child back to shore.
“Towards the end I was getting very worried (about my own safety) but I saw Jason and was very relieved,” Mr Mackenzie said.
Josh Shannon, 17, who was heading to the same Nippers graduation, also pitched in and grabbed a rescue board after he heard screaming from the beach.
Mr Shannon and Mr Free worked together to bring in the mother and the father.
Looking back Mr Mackenzie is glad he did not hesitate.
“I keep asking myself – should I have got something to float with?” he said, but added the panic in the kid who alerted him to it prompted him to act immediately.
“The dad was only just hanging on,” he said.
“I took the child not really thinking. I couldn’t help both of them and I grabbed the girl to take pressure off the dad.”
The man in his 30s and the girl of primary school age were transported to Robina Hospital in a stable condition.
Heidi Mackenzie said: “Never have I been more proud of being part of Southport SLSC. It was through a team of people and their chain of events that meant lives were saved including those of the people who risked theirs to bring others to safety.”
I COULD SEE THREE HEADS BOBBING IN THE WATER AND WAS THINKING THE WORST ... IT WAS ALL A BIT OF A BLUR LIFESAVER JASON FREE