A sunny Saturday at Milnerton Beach took a scary turn for two teens caught in a rip current outside the safe swimming zone. Fortunately, they weren’t outside the watchful eyes of two alert lifeguards, who quickly intervened.
Milnerton, South Africa (12 January 2026) – Not all heroes wear capes; sometimes they just have vigilant eyes, brave hearts and rescue boards.
The warm, sunny weather saw hundreds of people visiting Milnerton Beach this weekend. Even among the large crowd, Milnerton Lifeguards Nikolie Teixeira and Javin Presence were still able to spot two young men in distress in front of Bossa Restaurant, outside the designated swim area and about 100m from the club.
According to Milnerton Lifesaving Club, it was around 3 pm when Nikolie noticed the struggle of the young swimmers who were not far offshore but had stepped off a sandbank into the deep channel that forms the permanent Bossa rip current.
Without any hesitation, voluntary lifeguard Javin swiftly sprinted across the beach with a rescue board and managed to reach the first casualty and secured him on the board.
“That’s when he noticed the second boy who was an active drowning casualty, starting to disappear under the water.
“Javin left the first patient on the board and swam to rescue the second boy. He brought the boy back to the rescue board as well and managed to paddle both back to shore,” the lifesaving club shared.
The second teen had ingested a lot of water and was placed into a drainage position once on shore, as he’d complained of chest pain while struggling to cough.
“Javin decided to carry the patient upstairs to the clubhouse where he assessed him and offered him some water to drink and a warm shower as he was becoming hypothermic.”
The teens stayed with the lifeguards until they recovered from the shock of the ordeal, while the lifeguards monitored them. They were advised to report the incident to their parents and to look out for symptoms of secondary drowning.
Thanks to the vigilance of Milnerton lifeguard Nikolie Teixeira and the swift response of Javin Presence, disaster was prevented, and the two 13 -year-olds were safely returned to their families after landing in difficulty in the ocean.
We join the Milnerton Surf Lifesaving Club in applauding and thanking the vigilance and service of these two incredible heroes!
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