Surfers conduct heroic rescue at Lorne

IN A REMARKABLE act of bravery, two local surfers led a daring rescue operation at Lorne beach, saving the life of a distressed 10-year-old girl who had been caught in a dangerous rip.

Jarrad Bath, one of the surfers involved, recounted the harrowing experience.

“We were at the beach with the kids when my brother, Josh, spotted a boogie board floating 50 to 100 metres off the shore,” he said.

Moments later, they noticed a motionless body in the water, about 50 metres away from the board.

Mr Bath sensed urgency when he saw a family on the beach looking distressed.

“The person they were talking to ran up the beach towards the lifeguards with a shocked expression. That’s when I knew something was terribly wrong,” he said.

Without hesitation, Mr Bath sprang into action, grabbing a boogie board from a bystander at the water’s edge as he rushed past.

“About 50 metres out, I could see the body was face down in the water, completely motionless,” he said.

Together, they managed to flip the girl over.

“Josh, my brother, found a faint pulse and immediately knew we had to start CPR,”

After a few breaths, the girl expelled a significant amount of water and showed faint signs of breathing.

As they struggled against the rip, trying to move sideways to escape, their calls for help were finally answered by a lifeguard on a rescue board.

By the time they got back to shore, two nurses, a couple of doctors, and an air paramedic were administering emergency care.

The girl was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in critical condition but later recovered.

Mr Bath had the opportunity to speak with her Friday.

“I was talking to her uncle when he put her on the phone. She simply said ‘Thank you for saving my life,'” he said, still moved by the gravity of the situation.

The rescue is part of a spate of rescues by surfers of swimmers caught in strong rip currents between Lorne and Torquay in the past fortnight.

According to Royal Life Saving Australia, there have been 62 drowning deaths in Australia since December 1, 2023, nine more than the same time last summer.