UPDATE: Heroic rescue saves four off Ballito’s Clarke Bay, good Samaritan identified

Four lives were saved off Clarke Bay on Sunday evening in a daring rescue by passerby Jay Nel and off-duty lifeguard Linda Hlophe.

At around 5.30pm, husband and wife Keegan and Denisha Murrell and two of their extended family members got into trouble after enjoying what was initially a relaxed evening swim.

Originally from Durban, but now living in Knysna, Keegan said it was a rip tide that caught them off guard while visiting Ballito.

“It was just me and my wife at the start and it was very calm to begin with,” said Keegan.

“We were swimming comfortably and bodysurfing when suddenly we looked and thought, ‘we’re actually quite far out here’ and tried to get back in.”

That’s when the couple realised they might need help, as swimming back in proved difficult and they had been sucked out beyond the rocks on the northern side of Clarke Bay.

“My wife started to panic and I was struggling to get her back in and suddenly it was quite a scary situation,” he said.

“Luckily a guy and his wife [Jay and Shannon Nel] were walking on shore and saw us. They asked our family on the beach if we were okay and they told them that we were strong swimmers and should be fine.

“But the man used his intuition I guess and came out to check on us anyway and by that point we were already starting to get tired. I think he saved our lives.”

Together, the three of them were able to get almost the whole way into shore before being sucked out again, joined by two other family members who did not initially spot the danger and went for a swim themselves.

It was at this point that Linda was called to help and it was good fortune that he was still at the beach at all.

“My shift ended at 4pm but I was waiting to be picked up by my wife and was in the car park when someone came and called me,” said Linda, a veteran KwaDukuza lifeguard (44) who has been at Clarke Bay for the last five years.

“The man who called me said he thought there was just one person in trouble, and when I looked I also just saw one as it was getting dark.”

Linda did not hesitate to help and grabbed a rescue board before paddling out, only to find four people in trouble as well as Jay who had stayed with the Murrells.

“Unfortunately with that many people I couldn’t get them on the board, so I told them all to hold on to stay afloat while we waited for help,” said Linda.

“After a while we decided we would need to get out of the situation ourselves and I told everyone to kick and paddle towards where we normally set up the bathing area.”

The group was eventually able to catch a wave to shore, with all four distressed swimmers, Jay and Linda avoiding harm.

They were checked by paramedics on shore but no one needed to go to hospital after what was ultimately about a one hour ordeal.

“I just want to thank the guy who swam out to save us initially [Jay], Linda for all of his efforts and for IPSS Medical Rescue checking us when we got back,” said Keegan.

“The man’s wife [Shannon] also stayed with our family on shore and kept them calm, we sincerely appreciate everyone who helped us to avoid a really bad situation.”

Jay did not stay to claim any credit for the rescue, but became known to the Courier after one of his work colleagues read the print article and reached out to us.

• Note: This story differs from the print version as the names of the good Samaritan and his wife, later identified as Jay and Shannon Nel, were not known to the Courier at time of print.

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