A mass rescue at a Sydney beach involved the participation of ironman and ironwoman competitors after 25 people got into difficulties in the sea.
On Sunday about 4pm, the tourists were pulled further and further out to sea after being unexpectedly caught in a flash rip in Maroubra.
In a stroke of serendipity, the country’s top surf lifesavers were on hand for the Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series.
As the competition was coming to a conclusion for the weekend, an emergency occurred.
Eight athletes, including the recently crowned IronWoman Lana Rogers, saw the large group struggling to keep above the water.
“We just heard ‘massive rescue’ and lucky all of us were here still,” said Rogers.
According to Rony Carle, the coordinator of inflatable rescue boats, they sprang into action.
“They reacted as lifesavers do, when the call goes out, we go into action,” he stated.
“It happened so fast,” the gentleman I saved said.
Wayne Druery, national sport manager for Surf Life Saving Australia, stated that they think the rip happened swiftly.
“We believe it was what we call a flash rip, which is a sudden movement of water,” he stated.
Nobody suffered serious injuries.
In the last 24 hours, there have been two near-misses on beaches in the eastern suburbs.
Yesterday evening, four swimmers who had finished their patrols were retrieved from the sea at Bronte Beach.
Surf lifesavers report that they save 98 persons from the water at Bondi Beach on average each day.
