A man who fell unconscious to the seabed off Warilla Beach is recovering in Wollongong Hospital after an against-all-odds rescue.
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A fisherman saw the 23-year-old Chinese national getting into trouble about 2.10pm on Thursday after he entered unpatrolled waters off Warilla Beach to retrieve a ball.
From 200 metres down the beach, Warilla Barrack-Point Surf Life Saving Club patrol captain Thierry Pelaez heard the fisherman’s cries, but saw only empty waters.
‘‘I said, ‘I can’t see anyone’,’’ Mr Pelaez said.
‘‘[The fisherman] said, ‘He’s already gone under’.’’
Mr Pelaez joined several bystanders who got in the water to look for the man.
He went to the place that the fisherman had indicated and, seeing nothing, began swimming in circles until his body bumped up against a lifeless form about two body lengths beneath the water’s surface.
‘‘He was just dead weight,’’ Mr Pelaez said. ‘‘He was blue. I didn’t think he’d make it.’’
Mr Pelaez estimated the man was submerged for three minutes. Other lifesavers and council lifeguards helped to bring him ashore and performed CPR. He took several breaths before ambulance paramedics arrived to take over his treatment.
The man was taken by ambulance to Wollongong Hospital in a serious but stable condition, and was later sedated to assist with his recovery.
Illawarra Ambulance District Inspector Terry Morrow said salt water could cause many complications when it was taken into the lungs in a large quantity.
Near-drowning victims were given drugs and ventilated to keep positive pressure on their lungs and encourage salt content back into the body, he said.
Insp Morrow said the quickly administered CPR helped bring the man back to life.
‘‘I think they’ve done a wonderful job,’’ he said.
The man’s friends told the Mercury they did not know how he got into trouble.
The rescue contributed to a busy day for emergency services workers, who also helped a man aged in his 50s who got into trouble at Austinmer Beach about 5pm.
The man became exhausted after he was slammed by a succession of waves and inhaled seawater.
Ambulance paramedics took the man to Wollongong Hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.
