A young surf lifesaving trainee has been rushed to hospital after nearly drowning during a routine exercise on a Gold Coast beach.
This morning at around 8:15 am, a teenage girl was working towards completing her bronze medallion at Main Beach on Macarthur Parade. However, she experienced a challenging moment in the surf when she was struck by a wave, leading to her becoming unconscious after hitting her head.
Michael McAteer, a duty officer with Surf Lifesaving Queensland, explained the situation by stating that the girl was rendered unconscious by the impact of the wave. Promptly, senior lifesavers sprang into action, providing the girl with emergency resuscitation for about 15 minutes while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
Other teenage lifesavers quickly swam to her rescue and the girl was pulled from the water.
After the paramedics reached the scene, the girl was swiftly transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital for further medical attention. The collective efforts of the surf lifesavers and paramedics played a crucial role in ensuring she received the necessary care after the distressing incident.
The girl has since made a recovery.
“We just got an update from the guys over there so she’s awake making jokes, she’s doing well,” McAteer said.
The junior team were praised for their quick response.
“You can’t get a perfect rescue but that was pretty close,” McAteer said.
“It’s a tough thing to experience but that group will probably learn a lot from today and with a successful outcome you can’t expect much more from them.”
