Desperate attempt to save man’s life

A motel owner has described his desperate attempt to revive a man as he lay bleeding in a Christchurch park.

The Russian national could not be saved and police are treating his death as ‘‘unexplained’’.

Ferry Motel owner Mark Guo woke about 3.30am on Wednesday to the sound of his doorbell.

He went to the front door but there was no-one there. He checked his surveillance cameras and saw some men had come to the door and walked away.

He went outside in his pyjamas and slippers and found several Russian guests, who had been staying there for about five nights.

‘‘They didn’t speak much English, they just asked me to ‘come’.

‘‘I could tell by their body language it was serious and they wanted me to follow them.’’

Guo went with the men across the road into Edmonds Park where they showed him a man lying on his side facing a fence.

The man had been bleeding. Guo assumed he had slipped over. Guo called 111 and asked for an ambulance.

The operator asked if the man was still breathing and advised Guo to roll the man over, Guo said. The man had chest injuries. The operator told him to try cardio resuscitation.

‘‘I had no time to think, I just think the man needs help so I should try to save his life,’’ Guo

''I just think the man needs help so I should try to save his life." Motel owner Mark Guo

said. ‘‘I opened his mouth but it was full of blood, I still tried but it wasn’t working.’’

Police eventually arrived and took over the scene.

Guo said the dead man, understood to be a Russian fisherman, was a guest at his motel along with several other Russians.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Stewart said earlier the death was ‘‘unexplained’’.

‘‘Police are currently speaking to a number of people and are not actively seeking anyone else in relation to the death,’’ he said.

Cordons were set up around the park and on Ferry Rd. Tents were set up on the park pathway and on Ferry Rd. A mobile police base and forensic photographers were at the scene.

Police formally identified the man on Wednesday and were in the process of notifying his next of kin.

The scene examination had finished by Thursday and the tent was no longer at the park.

Anyone with information or who was in the area between 2am and 3.30am on Wednesday was asked to contact the police on 03 363 7400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.