NEWS: Boy, 11, rescued in sea drama
Hero hailed for frantic efforts to save life of blue, unresponsive child he hauled from the sea
AN AVID fisherman caught more than he bargained for after he dived into rough seas just off the Port Elizabeth coastline at the weekend to rescue an 11year-old boy who had been swept away by the current.
Dylan Adams, 22, of Kabega Park, has been hailed as a hero by the Missionvale family of the child who almost drowned on Saturday morning.
But Adams said all the praise should be directed at God, who had placed him in the right place at the right time.
Adams, a supervisor at GIA construction projects, said an overnight fishing excursion with friends, Zaldrico Henson and Raven Prinsloo, turned into a lifeor-death situation the following morning when they decided to cast one more line before heading home.
“We decided to get rid of the last of the bait, so we stopped at the dolosse underneath the Settlers Way slipway,” Adams said.
“When we arrived [about 11am] a group of about 10 boys were playing on the rocks.
“I told my friends something bad was going to happen.
“They were unsupervised and there was a rip tide. We hadn’t been there for 10 minutes, when we heard the boys scream for help.
“I ran towards where they were and saw a boy floating face down in the water.
“I dived in and swam to him, he was cold and blue. I pulled him out of the water on my chest, but he wasn’t breathing.
“I started CPR and, after about a minute he coughed, but his heart wasn’t beating.”
Refusing to give up on the boy, Adams continued to conduct CPR for at least five minutes, while his friend called an ambulance.
“Eventually, he vomited water and his pulse started to return slowly,” Adams said.
“We jumped in our bakkie and rushed him to Livingstone Hospital. We had to keep talking and smacking him to keep him awake.
“When we got to the hospital, I just grabbed any doctor to help. He was wheeled off to the ICU.
“I went to visit him at Dora Nginza [where he was transferred to on Saturday evening].
“When he saw me he hugged me and said thank you.
“But the thanks must go to God who protected both of us to make it out safely.
“I only received first aid training years ago while in Grade 7 at Lorraine Primary, but the Lord guided me in helping him.”
Speaking outside the hospital yesterday, the child’s uncle, who asked that family names be excluded, said: “That man [Adams] is a hero and a saint.
“The boy has lost his mother and is dealing with a lot of issues at home, so for someone who doesn’t even know him to risk his own life is God’s work.
“These children sneak away from home on the weekend to go to beach.
“I am just so grateful that he [Adams] was there to help them because, from what I was told, he was as good as dead if that man had not been there.”
The child is still in the ICU but is responsive, according to Adams who visited the boy late yesterday afternoon.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the child was in the paediatric intensive care unit.