Bronte surf rescue: Jamie and Kirsty McLellan praised as heroes
Two surf lifesavers have been hailed for ditching their dinner date and rushing to save 11 people swept to sea after dark at Bronte last week. We can reveal the details of their incredible rescue for the first time.
Wentworth Courier
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The hero surf life savers who dropped everything during a dinner date to save multiple lives in the eastern suburbs last week have detailed the frantic scene that met them at the waters on Saturday night.
Bronte Surf Life Saving Club members James McLennan and wife Kirsty were having dinner on their balcony in Bronte when they jumped into action after noticing a group of distressed swimmers being swept out to sea.
Abandoning their food, the pair grabbed their rescue boards and paddled out onto the choppy waters and into a what turned out to be a serious mass rescue operation.
“As I ran down, I could hear a lot of screaming and yelling coming from the beach,” Mr McLellan said,
I could see at least six people in trouble, so I had to get a board and get straight into the water. I simply didn’t have time to call 000.”
The account of their heroics about 8pm that night were detailed by the Bronte SLSC to the Wentworth Courier.
James, who went out first, managed to get five swimmers to safety before things got dire with one swimmer, who was semiconscious among the waves and foaming at the mouth.
With the conditions for CPR on the water proving too dangerous and the man’s condition worsening, help on the shore arrived in the form of a bystander who just so happened to be an anaesthetist.
Mr McLennan was unable to stabilise the swimmer enough to commence CPR on his paddle board as the wind and waves made conditions too risky.
The man, who is now recovering in hospital, was unresponsive when paramedics arrived.
From there, other Bronte SLSC volunteers had got the call-out in their WhatsApp group and jumped into action, including 13-year-old nipper Miki Bianchi.
Matt Spooner, an operations manager with Surf Life Saving NSW, said that Mr McLennan’s rescue was heroic.
“It was the most incredible rescue I’ve ever heard of. It was full-on heroic. James’ efforts that day saved the lives of nine people without doubt.”
Early reports had suggested that up to 40 people were out in the ocean, however, the club’s final count saw 11 rescues, nine of which were described as serious, with one person still recovering in hospital.
In total, 18 volunteers and three off-duty lifeguards had answered the desperate call.