An off-duty surf lifesaver is being hailed as a hero after saving the life of a 16-year-old boy who was caught in large swell at Coledale Beach late yesterday afternoon.
The 16-year-old boy had jumped into the surf off the rocks at North Coledale beach at 4.45pm on Tuesday evening to go surfing with a friend. However, he forgot to attach his body-board leash and quickly got into trouble in the large swell and strong current and was separated from his board.
A local resident who had been walking near the beach phoned Triple-Zero after noticing the boy in trouble in the large swell, being dragged by the current close to the rock platform. Fortuitously, off-duty surf lifesaver Kyle Mathiesen, from Thirroul Surf Life Saving Club, was alerted to the situation when he heard members of the public screaming for help to rescue the boy and was first to respond.
Kyle quickly assessed the surf conditions before stripping down to board shorts, grabbing a board and swim fins and running down to the beach. He paddled out to the boy who had been thrown his board for buoyancy by an onlooker. He was just metres from the rock platform, struggling to swim against the strong current and nearing exhaustion. He had been in the water for 25 minutes.
Kyle reached the boy and provided reassurance while he paddled him away from the rocks. He waited until there was a break in the waves to paddle the boy back through the break to the safety of the shore. The rescue took more than 10 minutes due to the size of the swell and rough conditions.
“I had a quick look at the conditions and paddled out. I reached the guy and said to him ‘are you tired’ and he said ‘yes’. So, I said to him ‘come on mate, let’s do this together’ and I swam him back to the beach,” said Kyle Mathiesen.
“Thankfully, the woman who spotted the kid in trouble raised the alarm and called Triple-Zero and then was able to throw him his board. She really set it up as a successful rescue,” he said.
The boy’s father, Phil Campbell, who watched the rescue unfold from the beach, was very relieved when his son was returned safely. He thanked Kyle for saving his son’s life in such treacherous conditions. He also thanked Surf Life Saving NSW Duty Officer Anthony Turner, the Coledale SLSC callout team and the other emergency service teams, including police and ambulance paramedics, who responded to the call to Triple-Zero. The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter was also tasked to the incident.
The boy’s aunt, Michelle Burt, said that the response of emergency service personnel was incredible.
“The police, ambulance and rescue teams were there in five minutes. How quick was that! They had jetskis ready and a helicopter on the way. I can’t even get a hamburger that quickly. These guys are mega-men,” said Michelle Burt.
“I want to nominate Kyle for a bravery award for what he did. This bloke is a legend! It would have been a recovery situation if he didn’t get him out of the surf when he did. He was exhausted and there was only ten minutes before it got dark.
“Nobody should have been out in the surf that day – not even good surfers. It was like a washing machine out there,” she said.
A hazardous surf warning had been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for the Illawarra region at the time of the incident.
Wednesday 27 May 2020