An elderly man is recovering in hospital after he was pulled from the water after hours at Umina Beach on Sunday evening.
It is understood that the 70-year-old was swimming with his family when he got into difficult just after 5:30pm.
He was pulled unconscious from the water by distressed family members.
The Umina IRB crew were conducting a training exercise nearby and immediately responded to the incident.
They radioed into the State Operations Centre and requested an ambulance to attend.
In a fortuitous coincidence, the relatively new radio operator who fielded the call is a Central Coast local and was able to assist by her knowledge of the area to direct emergency services to.
Initial first aid treatment was provided to the man by the responding lifesavers until the paramedics arrived and took over.
Two Central Coast Duty Officers also attended to provide assistance and to ensure the welfare of the responding members.
Fortunately the man regained consciousness and he was later transported to hospital to undergo further health checks.
Yesterday’s incident was a timely reminder of the danger of rip currents especially outside regular patrol hours.
On Friday a woman was pulled out of powerful rip by Cape Hawke lifesavers while patrolling volunteers rescued more than 30 people over the weekend as a result of a variety of factors.
Tips On How To Spot A Rip Current
Some signs include;
- Deeper, dark-coloured water.
- Fewer breaking waves.
- A rippled surface surrounded by smooth waters.
- Anything floating out to sea or foamy, discoloured, sandy, water flowing out beyond the waves.
Rips don’t always show all of these signs at once.
Rip Current Survival Tips
- Relax – stay calm and float to conserve your energy.
- Raise – raise your arm and attract attention from lifeguards or lifesavers.
- Rescue – the lifeguards or lifesavers will be on their way to help you.
- While floating, rip currents may flow in a circular pattern and return you to an adjacent sandbar
- You may escape the rip current by swimming parallel to the beach, towards the breaking waves.
- Reassess your situation. If what you’re doing isn’t working, try one of the other options until you’re rescued or return to shore.
Monday 4 December 2017