‘Idiot’: Man washed away by monster surf during fatal Easter weekend
Chilling footage captured the moment an “idiot” disappeared after being swept from a rock pool by a monster wave. Now he’s emerged to tell his side of the story.
A daredevil who was captured being swept from a rock pool and dragged along the rocks as monster swell pounded Australia’s east coast has opened up about the humbling stunt.
Jacob Little took to social media to confess he was the “idiot” seen in the footage taken at Froggies Beach, a small cove to the south of iconic Gold Coast surf spot Snapper Rocks.
“I am a total idiot. Looking back on this now I could have ended up seriously injured or even worse,” he wrote alongside footage of the incident.
“Thank you to the amazing nurses and doctors who cleaned all of my cuts and gave the all clear.”
Watch the vision here:
The heartstopping footage captured the moment Mr Little attempted to dive into a rock pool as a huge wave crashed down on top of him.
The young law student vanished briefly as a wall of water ripped him backwards and swept him along the rocks.
Mr Little, who is now an advocate for sexual abuse survivors after turning his back on the bikie lifestyle, also shared footage of the nasty injuries he suffered.
“My pride is extremely hurt. I should have definitely thought about this more before I tried it,” he said, showing off deep gashes to his hands and toes.
Mr Little’s near-death experience was far from an outlier.
Surf Life Saving NSW declared it the “worst” Easter long weekend on record.
The holiday weekend was marred by six coastal drownings across the country, the latest being a nine-year-old boy.
Emergency services were called to the NSW town of South West Rocks at about 3.30pm on Sunday, where the nine-year-old boy had become stuck between rocks.
Firefighters managed to pull him out, but he tragically died at the scene.
Earlier on Sunday, a fisherman died and a teenager was taken to hospital after being washed off rocks in Sydney’s south.
The pair were swept into the water at Wattamolla, in the Royal National Park, around 11am, before they were winched out of the water by rescue teams.
The man was unable to be revived and died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
His 14-year-old son was taken to the Children’s Hospital at Randwick in a critical condition.
On Friday afternoon, a man drowned at City Rock Road, Green Cape on the NSW south coast.
According to police, he had been fishing before being washed off rocks. A short time later, a body was located in the water. The body is yet to be formally identified.
Another fisherman died earlier that day after being swept off a rock wall at Endeavour Dr at the Wollongong Harbour about 6.15am. He was pulled from the water unconscious.
Despite resuscitation attempts from police, the 58-year-old man could not be saved.
On Easter Sunday there were 50 rescues in NSW with another 100 lives saved since Good Friday.
Surf Life Saving NSW bosses said a combination of hot weather, the long weekend, and the “enormous” swell proved a deadly combination.
“For such a religious weekend, this has been absolutely horrific from a coastal drowning perspective,” Surf Life Saving NSW CEO, Steve Pearce said.
While conditions have now eased in some locations, beachgoers are still warned to take extra care.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is for the public to be aware of the surf conditions when visiting the coastline and to not place themselves in a position of unnecessary risk,” said Mr Pearce.
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