A snorkelling emergency turned into a life-saving success story when two quick-thinking tour guides and a local hero with an NSRI pink buoy teamed up to save a senior couple.
St Lucia, South Africa (10 March 2026) – A senior couple’s visit from Pretoria to Cape Vidal took a frightening turn on Saturday, 7 March, when they got into difficulty while snorkelling.
A nearby tour group noticed the couple was in distress, prompting two male tour guides to rush to their vehicles for diving fins. Both men immediately launched into the surf to provide assistance.
At the same time, a male bystander spotted the struggling couple and grabbed the NSRI pink rescue buoy stationed on the beach. He also launched into the water to help with the rescue effort.
With the pink rescue buoy, he reached the 54-year-old male, finding him exhausted and struggling to keep his head above water.
“One of the tour guides, wearing diving fins, reached them and together, using the aid of the buoy for flotation, they were able to safely rescue the man to shore, where on arriving on the beach, he was placed in the recovery position, displaying non-fatal drowning symptoms,” said Melinda Snyman, NSRI St Lucia station commander.
The second tour guide reached the 59-year-old female and successfully rescued her to the shoreline.
“They were met on the beach by our responding NSRI St Lucia crew and NSRI medics. On arrival on the scene, a 54-year-old male and a 59-year-old female were medically assessed and provided medical care and stabilised by NSRI medics on the scene,” Snyman explained.
From there, they were both transported to St Lucia, where additional medical care was provided. In consultations with Advanced Life Support paramedics, both patients, recovering from their ordeal, were deemed fit and they required no further medical care.
A huge shout-out of thanks to the selfless rescuers who leapt into the surf this weekend to save the senior couple.
Sources: NSRI
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