Amanzimtoti holidaymaker rescues drowning boy
Henrik Bernard believes that saving the child was an act of God.
An Amanzimtoti holidaymaker put his own life at risk to rescue a drowning child at Inyoni Rocks on Tuesday, 18 May. Henrik and Rina Bernard visit the coastal town every year for a week or two. However, a fishing trip almost turned deadly. Henrik, 63, underwent two major back operations so he generally does not swim in the ocean.
“My wife and I were fishing at Inyoni Rocks and we noticed about five boys who were with their sister playing in the water. I told them that they cannot swim there, but they didn’t listen to me. The next moment the current took all five of them further into the water, three of them managed to swim out. One of the boys came up to me and said please uncle save my brother. But, I knew that I could not go into the water because I would drown,” said Henrik, who recalled the life-changing moment.
Inyoni Rocks is not a bathing beach and residents are often warned of the dangers of swimming in the area.
“One of them managed to get out, but the smaller boy was getting tired and I noticed him going down and coming up from the water. I realised that if I don’t go into the water he would drown. I couldn’t leave him. I ran into the sea, managed to get to him and pulled him out. When I finally got him on the sand, we turned him to his side to get the water out of his lungs. After about an hour he was fine.”
Once the child was out of danger’s way, Henrik was overcome by emotion.
“I told him to never swim in this water again. I am happy that I was able to get him out of the water. I will never forget what happened. I saved somebody’s life. The thought of it makes me emotional. I was so tired when we came out of the water. I am too scared to go back in though. I feel good knowing that I helped someone, I never experienced something like this before.”
He believes that saving the child was an act of God.
“I am not a hero or anything, but I feel that the little boy was saved through God’s intervention. God helped me to help someone else. He could have drowned and I knew that I wasn’t fit to go into the sea but it was a miracle that I saved him.”
ALSO READ: Man survives near drowning incident
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