The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mother thanks her son’s friends for saving his life
RESCUE: ‘It could have been different story and he’s lucky to be here to tell tale’
A mother whose son was pulled unconscious from the water after jumping into the North Sea has thanked his young friends for saving his life.
Andrew Adam, from Inverbervie, was pier-jumping with pals at Gourdon harbour when another boy accidentally landed on him.
The 12-year-old was knocked out but the other youngsters leapt into action, dragging him back to dry land, where he regained consciousness.
He was taken to Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital with a deep cut on his chin and received surgery.
Speaking from his hospital bedside, mum Helen Esmer, 38, thanked the emergency services who came to Andrew’s aid – as well as his friends for getting him out of the water.
She said: “To say it has been a stressful time is an understatement.
“Andrew is realising it could have been a completely different story and he’s lucky to be here to tell the tale.
“He doesn’t remember anything so my details of what exactly happened are a bit fuzzy.
“They know the harbour really well – it’s a fishing harbour and there’s not that many rocks. They all had wetsuits on and shoes as well.
“If it wasn’t for the boys helping Andrew out of the water I’m not sure what would have happened.
“They weren’t the reactions of 12-yearold boys. They reacted so quickly. They were all so great.”
Andrew was recovering well in hospital, she said, and suffered no concussion.
Emergency services including the coastguard, RNLI and paramedics were called to the harbour at around 5.30pm on Tuesday.
Helen said: “The emergency services were fantastic, I can’t thank them enough. I’m a bit humbled that we have this amazing service.”
Following the incident, coastguard officer Gordon Barton issued a warning about the dangers of jumping into harbours.
He said: “Jumping off harbour walls and other structures into water can be really dangerous. What might have been a deep pool can become a shallow puddle just a few hours later and you do not know what else is below the water.”