Teenager rescued from rip-currents by his friend

Theo Erasmus, NSRI Witsand station commander, said:At 12h45 on Sunday the 12th of November, NSRI Witsand Port Beaufort were informed of two persons being swept out to sea by a rip currents at the Witsand Main beach.We dispatched our NSRI rescue swimmers and on arrival on the scene we found two people already safely out of the water and in the parking area.We were informed that one of the two males, a 15 year old, had been swimming when he got caught in rip currents.His 20 year old friend swam out to him and managed to get to him and rescued him from the surf.Both males, from Heidelberg, who were at the beach on a day trip, were showing signs of secondary drowning and suffering from shock.They were both stabilised on scene by our NSRI medics and then kept under observation until the WC Government Health EMS ambulance arrived on scene. They were handed into the care of the EMS paramedics in a stable conditions.NSRI commends the 20 year old for going in to rescue his friend.NSRI are urging the public to be aware of the dangers of rip currents at beaches.For water safety tips go to www.searescue.org.za