Boat capsizes near O’Sullivans Beach, south of Adelaide, with five men taken to hospital

Rescuers have detailed the frantic efforts to save five young men who have been taken to hospital after a boat capsized off a metro beach in Adelaide’s south.

Five young men are in hospital after the boat they were in capsized off a beach in Adelaide’s south, with rescuers detailing the frantic efforts to save them.

The alarm was raised just after 11.30am on Sunday, with rescue boats and a chopper called to assist in a search near Christies Beach and O’Sullivans Beach.

A chopper at the scene of a boat capsize south of Adelaide. Picture: Michael Marschall

One person is receiving CPR after being brought to shore. Picture: Michael Marschall

SA Police said all five occupants of the boat – understood to be males in their 20s – had been transported to hospital, where they remain.

Richard Nurmi and Hughie Deroussent, from the Christie’s Beach Surf Life Saving Club, said they rushed out to help bring the men to safety after a member of the public alerted them.

The overturned boat is brought back to shore. Picture: Tim Joy

Richard Nurmi and Hughie Deroussent from Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club helped to save the men. Picture: Tim Joy

“We run a winter swimming club and we’d already been in the water and were just finishing up for the day,” Mr Deroussent said.

“Then a member of the public came up, we didn’t actually see what was going on.”

The pair said they first saw an upturned boat with people clinging to it.

“I couldn’t tell how many were actually there. You could sort of see three clinging to the boat,” Mr Deroussent said.

They said they found four people in the water and asked them if they were missing anyone else. The people responded “no”, but then Mr Nurmi said he noticed what looked like more clothing floating in the water.

“As we turned, I noticed there was a jacket or something floating in the water. We went over to look and there was a guy face down in the water,” Mr Nurmi said.

“He was starting to sink to the bottom,” he said.

The men, they said, were all wearing heavy clothing including track pants. One man had multiple jackets on that was making it difficult for him to stay up, they said.

They also said no one was wearing a life jacket.

“They didn’t really know how to swim.”

Originally published as Boat capsizes near O’Sullivans Beach, south of Adelaide, with five men taken to hospital