Family saved by Glen Mackenzie and two other off-duty lifesavers after almost drowning off Main Beach

Night had just fallen on the Gold Coast when a child ran up to Glen Mackenzie and said his family were caught in a rip off the beach. So he sprang into action. This is their incredible story.

IT is being credited as a split second decision that saved the lives of three people.

Darkness had all but fallen on Saturday night when Maudsland’s Glen Mackenzie heard screams and sprang into action, diving into the water in jeans with no rescue gear.

He is being hailed a hero for his haste.

A family — mum, dad and their primary school-aged daughter — were caught in a rip at Main Beach, struggling to stay afloat and disappearing from view.

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The trio have been credited with saving the family’s lives. Picture: Jerad Williams

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Mr Mackenzie, a volunteer lifesaver, had just got out of his car and was walking on his way to his daughter’s Nippers graduation at Southport Surf Club about 6pm.

“This little kid came up yelling ‘My sister’s stuck in a rip’,” the 44-year-old plumber said.

“I’d heard a scream maybe a minute earlier but I assumed it was just kids on the beach playing.

“I put two and two together real quick and ran to help.”

Mr Mackenzie swam out to find the girl being kept afloat by her father.

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Off duty lifesavers, Josh Shannon, 17, Glen Mackenzie and Jason Free saved a family from drowning near Southport Surf Club on Saturday night. Picture: Jerad Williams

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“He looked pretty exhausted so I took the girl off him thinking I’d swim back into the beach but it was quite challenging with the rip and being in jeans,” he said.

“I kept her afloat for maybe three or four minutes with the jeans dragging me down.”

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Meanwhile, Mr Mackenzie’s wife Heidi — who was with him — called the surf club for backup.

Nearby, off-duty lifesaver Jason Free was having dinner in the surf club when people came in yelling about the trio needing help.

It was virtually pitch black when Mr Free, 44, grabbed a rescue board and dived into the ocean.

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They’re all trained lifesavers. Picture: Jerad Williams

“On the way out I didn’t know what to expect — I could see three heads bobbing in the water and was thinking the worst,” he said.

“It was all a bit of a blur, all of a sudden there was a kid in front of me.”

Mr Free, a surgeon from Southport, took the child back to shore — Mr Mackenzie said he couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Towards the end I was getting very worried (about my own safety) but I saw Jason and was very relieved,” Mr Mackenzie said.

Josh Shannon, 17, who was heading to the same Nippers graduation, also pitched in and grabbed a rescue board after he heard screaming from the beach.

Mr Shannon and Mr Free worked together to bring in the mother and the father.

Looking back Mr Mackenzie is glad he did not hesitate.

“I keep asking myself — should I have got something to float with?” he said but added the panic in the kid who alerted him to it prompted him to act immediately.

“And I was thinking about the scream a minute earlier — she’s been out there too long and that’s why I took off running instead of back to the club.

“I imagine the dad would’ve been much worse off and put the little girl in jeopardy — he was only just hanging on when I got there,” he said.

“I took the child not really thinking. I couldn’t help both of them and I grabbed the girl to take pressure off the dad.”

The man in his 30s and the girl of primary school age were transported to Robina Hospital in a stable condition.

Of the rescue effort by her husband and the two helpers, Heidi Mackenzie said: “Never have I been more proud of being part of Southport SLSC. It was through a team of people and their chain of events that meant lives were saved including those of the people who risked theirs to bring others to safety.”