A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy narrowly escaped drowning at Baggies beach on July 9 thanks to a stroke of luck and the heroics of a bystander, and a swift response from eThekwini lifeguards.

Also read: Abandoned vehicle in Adams Mission linked to robbery

Hero of the day, Cameron Alexander, was fishing at an area south of the beach at around 14:00 when he noticed a body floating in the water.

Dhaya Sewduth of Lifesaving South Africa explained that Alexander realised it was a person who was face down in the water and swam out into the strong sea swell conditions to rescue the child from the water.

He added that it was lucky Alexander was both a strong swimmer, and a trained first aider and responder whose instincts kicked in.

“He performed the necessary resuscitation on the child until the ambulance arrived. It was fortunate Alexander was there at the time. He had recently moved down from Pretoria to the South Coast. Had he not been there, not been able to make the 50m swim or overcome the strong sea swell, the young boy could have been a fatal statistic,” said Sewduth.

Beach superintendent Jace Govender applauded Alexander’s heroics, and urged bathers to never swim in beaches not patrolled by lifeguards.

Sewduth said paramedics checked the child before he was taken to the hospital.

“Once again, we urge bathers to only swim where lifeguards are on duty and for parents and caregivers to always supervise children. Lifesaving South Africa will certainly recommend the name of Cameron Alexander for a bravery award,” said Sewduth.

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.