Man critical after near drowning on Bribie Island on Australia Day

A couple have revealed their frantic bid to get help for a man who has been left fighting for life after a terrifying near drowning on Bribie Island.

A man is in a critical condition following the near-drowning on Bribie Island. Picture: QAS

An off-duty nurse and her partner have spoken about their frantic bid to save the life of a man who nearly drowned on Bribie Island on Australia Day.

Chantelle Herrmann, who was first on scene near Ocean Beach Access Track about 2.14pm Friday, said the man had been underwater for up to three minutes before he was rescued by mates.

Ms Herrmann said the man had sustained a laceration to his head which is what caused him to be underwater for an extended period of time.

“CPR wasn’t needed, which is good, but he did lose consciousness, he had a massive laceration on his head so it sounds like he’d knocked himself out in the surf,” Ms Herrmann said.

It is understood the man was conscious and breathing but had sustained spinal injuries.

“We had to collar and cuff him to protect the spine.” Ms Herrmann said.

Ms Herrmann’s partner Mark Watterson said he was able to help organise a helicopter to fly the man to hospital.

“I own my own helicopter service business and I also work part time with a friend’s helicopter company, doing some utility work with helicopters so with the experience I have, I got the GPS coordinates for the co-ordination centre, so they could pass it on to Rescue 511,” he said.

“I got a couple of four-wheel drives that were stopped to give me a hand to create a safe passage for the chopper to come in and as the was Rescue 511 from Sunny Coast were inbound to land.

“The police turned up and I quickly raced to them and asked them to go to the other end of the beach to stop the traffic.”

The man was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.