‘It was so painful, I could barely move’: Story behind epic surf rescue

Marcelo Silvestre owes his life to the bravery of Tugun surf club’s Bronson Howard and local surfer Ari Miles. SUBSCRIBE TO READ FULL INTERVIEW.

MARCELO Silvestre owes his life to the bravery of Tugun surf club’s Bronson Howard and local surfer Ari Miles.

Around lunchtime on Friday, June 19, Silvestre was surfing just in front of Tugun surf club when a huge set of waves came through, one of them dumping him onto a shallow sandbank.

The 33-year-old immediately fractured his T12 vertebrae, leaving him bereft of movement as the waves continued to roll over him.

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“I felt pain immediately,” the veteran surfer said.

“So many things were going through my mind like if I was going to be able to walk away but it was so painful and I could barely move anything.”

Tugun local and Surfer Ari Miles was involved in a heroic rescue off Tugun beach two weeks ago, saving an injured surfer from drowning. . Picture: Jerad Williams

19-year-old Tugun resident Miles immediately knew something was wrong when the sole other surfer on their secluded stretch of beach didn’t resurface on the other side of the break.

“His screaming was one of the worst sounds I’ve ever heard,” Miles said.

“It was more of a gargle with all the water in his mouth but I realised it was a pretty serious situation.

“My parents always told me when I was younger if someone was drowning, you almost have to weigh up whether to put yourself into trouble as well because one dead surfer is terrible but two is even worse.

“But if that was me, I would really hope someone would go out of their way to rescue me.

“You know it can happen but you never imagine it until a bloke is clinging onto you for dear life.”

Miles ditched his board and swam to the sandbank, realising Silvestre could barely move as he signalled to the shore for help.

That’s when 18-year-old Tugun Surf Life Saving Club patrol member and bistro staff member Bronson Howard leapt into action.

Howard was serving drinks to some customers on the balcony overlooking the beach when he noticed Silvestre’s “lifeless body” floating near the shore.

Still in his uniform, Howard sprinted down onto the beach and jumped into the water to help Miles with the rescue.

Luckily, Howard was fully trained in suspected spinal injury precautions and carefully guided his team of helpers through the delicate situation while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

“Pure instinct took over,” he said.

“Honestly I was pretty confident with the situation and knew exactly what to do from my training.

“If I made some sort of difference in whether or not he’s able to walk again, it would feel pretty good.

“It was lucky that there was another surfer out there with him because if he didn’t get to him, who knows whether he would have drowned or not.”

Tugun local and Surfer Ari Miles was involved in a heroic rescue off Tugun beach two weeks ago, saving an injured surfer from drowning. . Picture: Jerad Williams

Howard, who also competed for Tugun in surf sports until last year, said it was the most severe rescue he’d been a part of since he started patrolling around the age of 15.

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“I’ve never seen anything that serious on a patrolling day so it was definitely one of the scarier things I’ve seen,” he said.

“It’s pretty quiet down at Tugun and not much goes down around here.

“Not many people knew what was happening (when he eventually returned to work after the rescue) but I don’t like all the attention and fuss anyway.”

Silvestre is now out of hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

“They saved my life,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for Ari especially, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the water.

“I know it could have been a lot worse but I’m so grateful to both of them.”