Durban - A 35-year-old woman who had decided to take a lunchtime swim at the Port Edward beach died on Monday, despite the heroic efforts of a guest house owner and a bather to save her life.
The unnamed woman is believed to be a local municipality employee who worked as a cleaner at the beach. She had been at the beach with colleagues and was swept out to sea by a strong rip current.
But for Peter Brereton, 58, who had been relaxing on the beach with his wife Theresa and his dogs, the day turned frantic when he saw commotion at the beach.
He left his wife, called for help and rushed to the drowning woman on his Jet Ski.
Struggling to find the person in trouble in the breakers, he shouted to a bystander, Simthembile Bitsha, 25, to hop on to the jet Ski so he could direct him to the person in trouble. They soon came across the woman in dire difficulty and Brereton handed over the helm of the Jet Ski to Bitsha, while he leapt into the water to rescue her.
“There was a strong rip and the water was really deep and the woman was really heavy.
“So I took off the life jacket because I realised that it helped me to help her. I lost her for a while and she went to the bottom for a moment, but luckily I found her,” he said.
The waves hurled Brereton and the woman back to shore. Bitsha, in the meantime had capsized with the Jet Ski.
Brereton screamed and told him to hold on to the boat to avoid another drowning and he washed up on shore safely.
“By the time we got to the shore, I was finished, people were just watching and I was calling for help, I tried to resuscitate her, but she was gone,” he said.
Brereton said he felt bad that he was unable to save the woman, and said he had successfully resuscitated two bathers 18 years ago.
Had it not been for fatigue, he believed he would have been able to save the woman.
Brereton said when the emergency services arrived, he nearly collapsed and needed to be treated for exhaustion. He took a three-hour nap after the incident to recuperate.
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman, Craig Lambinon, confirmed that the NSRI Port Edward rescue crew was called for assistance.
Lambinon hailed the Breretons and Bitsha for their efforts. “NSRI commends Peter for his gallant effort and quick thinking today. Despite the sad outcome, every effort was made to try to save the woman’s life.
“Bitsha is commended for bravely going out with Peter on the Jet Ski and playing an integral part in directing Peter to the victim,” he said.
Daily News