Flashbacks the price of courage
Rough seas, crashing waves the battle to stay alive.
That’s what 28-year-old Bernard Riedl remembers when he recalls the events of November 11 at the Torpedo Bay wharf in Devoport, Auckland.
He almost died trying to save the life of a 5-year-old boy. And the events of those few minutes in the ocean still haunt him.
Riedl is traumatised, refusing professional help to deal with what he had to endure. He has since resigned from his office job in Auckland and has gone to pick fruit in Tauranga for the summer.
It takes him a second to acknowledge that his life has changed drastically. However, he is adamant that if similar circumstances arose, he would do it all again.
The 5-year-old boy didn’t survive that day. He was weighed down by his wet clothing and lost his grip around Riedl’s neck before disappearing beneath the water.
The tragedy occurred shortly after Riedl and his friends left the national naval museum.
He decided to go for a walk on the t-shaped wharf. That’s when he heard a fisherman shout ‘‘jump in, jump in’’ and Riedl saw the child splashing in the water.
The fisherman was shouting at the child’s parents on the other side of the wharf, but Riedl realised it was a ‘‘desperate situation’’ and that nobody else was going to jump in to try to save him.
‘‘I thought I would have to do something. I stripped down to my underwear and socks and jumped in,’’ says Riedl.
The water was rough and he had to swim to where the boy was struggling and swallowing water.
But soon after the boy had his arms around Riedl’s neck, he realised he was also in danger and could not breathe. but and he is
‘‘I looked up at the wharf and realised ‘Christ, two minutes ago I was living a normal life and now I can die’.’’
He decided to turn onto his back so that they could both float and at that point, Riedl believes, the boy lost his grip and drowned.
‘‘I closed my eyes and he disappeared, I never saw him again.’’
Riedl eventually made it to shore. He returned to the naval museum where he gave a statement to police, and then walked away.
He never spoke to the boy’s family and they never tried to thank him for his heroism.
‘‘I’m alright. I know some people get PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) but it doesn’t really affect me that much. I guess it’s because I didn’t know him.
‘‘The police have offered me help with Victim Support but I missed all their calls. I really don’t think I need it.’’
Riedl, who studied economics at university, says he plans to return to Russia in the next few months where he’s worked previously teaching English.
His life has been changed forever, and every now and then when he goes to sleep he still recalls the feeling of almost drowning.
Drowning Prevention Auckland’s communication manager, Barbara Venville-Gibbons, says 93 people have drowned attempting to rescue others in New Zealand since 1980.
‘‘In most survives, the she says.
‘‘Bystander rescues have been high on the list of discussions since the drowning of the 5-year-old boy.
‘‘We are lucky to live in a country where people are prepared to step up, Bernard in this case, and we have to give them credit for that but would prefer that they made it back safely.’’ cases the victim rescuer does not,’’