A Quick-Thinking Man, a Surfer and Bystanders Help Save Child Swept Out to Sea

Photo Credit: NSRI

An unidentified Good Samaritan, an alert surfer named Devon Coombe, and a group of dedicated bystanders sprang into action to rescue a 10-year-old boy who was swept off the rocks at Rocklands Beach.

Sea Point, South Africa (13 October 2025) – On Thursday afternoon, 9 October, quick-thinking and compassionate beachgoers sprang into action at Rocklands Beach, Sea Point, when a child was swept out to sea.

The NSRI Table Bay and Bakoven duty crews responded promptly after receiving reports that bystanders had rescued the child and were performing resuscitation efforts right there on the sand.

NSRI rescue swimmers and medics, together with various emergency personnel and first responder units, responded to the scene following activation of the City of Cape Town rescue network. Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services arrived on the scene first and confirmed that paramedics assisted in resuscitation efforts on a 10-year-old boy.

The child was stabilised on the scene before being transported to the hospital by a Netcare 911 ambulance in a serious but stable condition. He is recovering in the hospital under the care of doctors and nurses. There were no further casualties.

According to NSRI Communications Officer Craig Lambinon, after further assessment of the situation, it was determined that a 10-year-old boy from Gugulethu was sitting on rocks with his 13-year-old brother while their father was nearby. During the high spring tide, waves unexpectedly swept the boy off the rocks and into the water.

His brother was able to escape from the waves to safety.

“An unidentified Good Samaritan man went into the surf to try to assist,” explains Lambinon.

“A group of local surfers, who had just exited the water after surfing, and bystanders, on the Sea Point Promenade, had noticed the incident. One of the local male surfers, 21-year-old Devon Coombe, from Kenilworth, was alerted by his fellow surfer friends, who were on the Sea Point Promenade.”

Only seeing a man in the water, surfer Devon suspected that it was the man who was in difficulty. He launched his surfboard to assist when he noticed that the man was actually trying to assist the child who was in difficulty in the water, in the surf zone.

“On reaching them, in the surf zone, Devon was able to recover the child onto his surfboard, and he paddled to shore where, together with other bystanders, resuscitation efforts were commenced on the child and the alarm was raised,” Lambinon shares.

The unidentified man exited the water and thankfully was not injured.

“The unidentified man, surfer Devon Coombe, and all of the bystanders who assisted and raised the alarm are commended for their contribution that saved the child’s life.”