A 51-year-old East London father was hailed a hero on Sunday after saving two teenage boys from drowning at Nahoon Beach.
Theo Pienaar from Stirling, a father of two, was fishing on Sunday evening near Nahoon Corner when he saw the two boys – estimated to both be around 11 years old – get into difficulty.
Without thought for his own life, Pienaar dived into the water to save the boys who were battling to keep their heads above water about 100m out.
Pienaar said one of the boys was trying to help his friend but got into difficulty himself.
“When I got to the boys it was very deep and I found myself struggling to swim too. I got behind them and pushed them from behind using my hands.
“But as I was saving them I got sucked in and pulled down into the water by the strong current.
“I pushed myself up from the bottom,” Pienaar said.
The three managed to reach the shore safely and Pienaar said the boys, whose names he did not get, were out of breath and traumatised by the incident. He said the boys had no guardians watching them.
Pienaar said he was concerned about the safety of holiday makers making use of Nahoon Beach.
“The Nahoon Beach has changed and the holiday makers might not know this. There were no currents on top but underneath the currents were very strong. A lot of sand has been washed away and there are now rocks in different parts of the beach.“People need to be careful of the currents and focus on their children and make sure they swim in the designated areas,” he said.
In an unrelated incident on Sunday, a 13-year-old girl from Beacon Bay drowned at a home in Kelvin Grove Road.
The incident reportedly happened around midday and police and ambulance services were sent to the scene.
Police spokesman Captain Stephen Marais said it was not clear how the incident happened as the father of the girl was still in shock.
“At this stage police have opened an inquest case and once the investigation is completed it will be sent to the senior state prosecutor.
“Police do not suspect any foul play at this stage.
“Children should not be alone when swimming at the beach or swimming pool. Know the whereabouts of your child at all times and know the people they are with,” Marais said.
Alderson’s operations manager Jason Leicester said December was a high risk period for drowning incidents.
“People should make sure their pools are covered or people who can’t swim are not left alone around pools. It’s kind of shocking that a 13-year-old could drown and obviously younger kids must not be left unsupervised.” — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Father saves two boys from drowning at Nahoon beach
Theo Pienaar from Stirling, a father of two, was fishing on Sunday evening near Nahoon Corner when he saw the two boys – estimated to both be around 11 years old – get into difficulty.
Without thought for his own life, Pienaar dived into the water to save the boys who were battling to keep their heads above water about 100m out.
Pienaar said one of the boys was trying to help his friend but got into difficulty himself.
“When I got to the boys it was very deep and I found myself struggling to swim too. I got behind them and pushed them from behind using my hands.
“But as I was saving them I got sucked in and pulled down into the water by the strong current.
“I pushed myself up from the bottom,” Pienaar said.
The three managed to reach the shore safely and Pienaar said the boys, whose names he did not get, were out of breath and traumatised by the incident. He said the boys had no guardians watching them.
Pienaar said he was concerned about the safety of holiday makers making use of Nahoon Beach.
“The Nahoon Beach has changed and the holiday makers might not know this. There were no currents on top but underneath the currents were very strong. A lot of sand has been washed away and there are now rocks in different parts of the beach.“People need to be careful of the currents and focus on their children and make sure they swim in the designated areas,” he said.
In an unrelated incident on Sunday, a 13-year-old girl from Beacon Bay drowned at a home in Kelvin Grove Road.
The incident reportedly happened around midday and police and ambulance services were sent to the scene.
Police spokesman Captain Stephen Marais said it was not clear how the incident happened as the father of the girl was still in shock.
“At this stage police have opened an inquest case and once the investigation is completed it will be sent to the senior state prosecutor.
“Police do not suspect any foul play at this stage.
“Children should not be alone when swimming at the beach or swimming pool. Know the whereabouts of your child at all times and know the people they are with,” Marais said.
Alderson’s operations manager Jason Leicester said December was a high risk period for drowning incidents.
“People should make sure their pools are covered or people who can’t swim are not left alone around pools. It’s kind of shocking that a 13-year-old could drown and obviously younger kids must not be left unsupervised.” — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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