30 January 2020

The lives of nine swimmers have been saved after a mass rescue at Sunset Beach, Port Waikato.

Sunset Beach Lifeguard Service President Malcolm Beattie says the rescues were carried out by off-duty volunteer Surf Lifeguards on Saturday at about 6pm after a group of swimmers walked straight into an active rip.

Malcolm says the evening could easily have ended with a number of lives lost.

Sunset Beach Lifeguard Service publicity officer Glennys Smith says patrols had finished after a long and very hot day with a large number of beachgoers visiting.

She says two Surf Lifeguards were still keeping an eye on the beach when they noticed a number of people waving their hands in distress.

“They had entered the ocean and walked straight into a very active rip and were immediately in trouble.”

Surf Lifeguard Mark Edwards ran back to the club to set up an IRB (inflatable rescue boat) while another lifeguard, Caitlin Stuart, contacted those who were back at the club cleaning up from the day’s patrol.

They raced to the scene in the beach rescue vehicle and, armed with rescue tubes, swam out to rescue those close to the shore line. These lifeguards were Taylor Shrimpton, Hogan Shrimpton, Sam Coughlan, Robbie Shrimpton and Shane Edwards, who coordinated the rescue.

The IRB crew, Mark Edwards and Anton Baptist made several trips to pick up the swimmers who had been carried out further in the fast developing rip tide.

Rescuer Shane Edwards says among those rescued were four children, one of them a five-year-old girl. He says one of the youngest children was on a boogie board but had no swim fins. An adult, who was just managing to stay afloat himself, was holding a girl above the waves.

The strong glare of the sun low on the horizon made it extremely difficult to see exactly where everyone was, Shane says.

Once the team were sure that all nine people were safely back on shore, two of the Surf Lifeguards checked on the distressed patients ensuring they were recovering and were being kept warm, as they were aware hypothermia could set in. After resting, the people were released by the Surf Lifeguards.

Shane says it was only afterwards that the guards realised just how many people had been rescued in what had developed into a very dangerous situation.

“The guards’ dedication to training for rescues such as this allowed for a fast response to the scene and enabled a positive outcome for everyone involved.”

Glennys says this won't be the last time the Surf Lifeguards are called on this summer as there is still a dangerous rip in front of the public carpark.

“Sunset Beach is certainly living up to its new reputation of having New Zealand's most rescues for a patrolled beach.”

Ends

© Scoop Media