FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A swift response by a vigilant bystander and off-duty lifeguards averted a potential tragedy as a swimmer faced dangerous conditions off the shores of Fort Lauderdale.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, a local surf instructor, who happened to be present at the scene, spotted a swimmer submerged approximately 100 yards offshore, near A1A and Northeast 18th Street, just before 07:50 a.m., Thursday.
The surf instructor, Dutch Shoren, said he paddled a surfboard toward the partially submerged victim.
“So I’m paddling down to him, going, ‘Oh, yeah, I got this. I know CPR, I know what to do, I can do this,'” he said. “When I got to this fellow, he actually was face down. He wasn’t conscious.”
Shoren, who owns a surf camp for children, said he was setting up shop when he noticed the submerged swimmer.
“I was back and forth, grabbing surfboards, picking them up, taking them back to the camp,” he said. “Next thing I knew, I see him out there struggling.”
That’s when Shoren grabbed a surfboard and began racing toward the ocean. He said he grabbed the swimmer and secured him on the board.
“I grabbed him and put him on the surfboard wit his head up in the air so he could try to breathe, but he wasn’t breathing at that time,” he said.
They then made their way back to the shore.
“I paddled with one arm, got into the sand, I pulled him up on the sand, I yelled, ‘Call 911!'” said Shoren.
The instructor began administering CPR. About a minute later, off-duty Fort Lauderdale lifeguards whi were conducting pre-work physical training in the vicinity joined the lifesaving efforts.
“We took the patient from the ground, got him onto a backboard and onto the back of a truck,” said lifeguard John Canfield. “I was doing chest compressions while we were moving the truck to the street so that fire rescue could access the patient.”
Ocean Rescue lifeguards assumed the task of administering CPR until the arrival of FLFR units.
The patient was transported to Broward Health in critical condition.
Shoren said he;s grateful he was in the right place at the right place.
“I wasn’t there to be a hero or to save the day. I just going to help somebody in distress,” he said.
As of late Thursday afternoon, officials have not identified the victim or provided further details about his current condition.
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