UKC

https://weather.com/en-GB/unitedkingdom/weather/video/elderly-couple-caught...

He doesn't do much to try and help himself!

In reply to Trangia:

Jeez. How scary was that! Just goes to show the power of the ocean on our shorelines. She's very lucky she didn't get dragged out further.

In reply to Trangia:

It is obviously important to continue filming whilst people are drowning!

In reply to Jim C:

The conversation I saw regarding this on facebook said that the camera man was in a wheelchair. Apparently he did phone for help. (I have no idea as to the truth of this, just repeating hearsay!)

In reply to Trangia:

Wow! were they ok?

In reply to Trangia:

Would the video have been published if they had died?

In reply to Indy:

I believe so, but it is very scary watching and left me with a sickening feeling. It shows how easily tragedies happen. They were very lucky

In reply to girlymonkey:

Me Jumping to collusionions again .
The video does seem to be incredibly stable, but there is no sound of anyone making a call, and you might have expected some shaking of the camera if someone was getting a phone out at the same time.

All a bit odd.

In reply to Jim C:

Because the other person that went to rescue him managed to do a good job, so let's just throw a third person in the mix.

Hell why not make our emergency services actually work, let's give them a challenge.

If you aren't trained, then you shouldn't do anything. Except call for help, or try and utilise life rings, ropes, anything that floats.

What's the first thing you learn in First Aid?
D for Danger. Not just to the casualty but to yourself. You can't help anyone when your dead and you make the job harder for the people that have to go in and get you.

To be brutally honest, it's Darwinism at its finest. Stupid people doing stupid stuff for a stupid picture with no respect for Mother Nature, the situation or the safety of themselves and others.

I got so angry seeing groups of people just stood on bridges, parking cars on already unstable bridges and river banks, phones out videoing a SAR helicopter, or whatever was happening during the floods, not just endangering themselves but hampering the work of the emergency services. which ultimately endangers others.

In reply to Bootrock:

They made a mistake.

Unless you have evidence otherwise, they coped without outside help.

In reply to Eeyore:
What's evidence got to do with it? It was A stupid and avoidable mistake, had some common sense been applied. There was an amber warning and you can quite clearly see the swell.
And it doesn't look like they managed at all, infact it took 2 passing people to attempt to rescue them, with 1 almost getting swept away himself. Until the Fire Service turned up, And an Air Ambulance to revive the unconscious old lady.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3438982/How-did-survive-Dramatic-vi...

No one is in a position to criticise the guy filming, disabled or otherwise. And in fact anyone that wouldn't run in and risk their own life, especially if they are untrained.

Luckily they survived this time.

In reply to Bootrock:


I respectfully disagree. There is a big difference between being trained to do something and being capable of doing something. I have no relevant training. I have plenty of experience to suggest to me that I would be perfectly capable of looking after myself in those conditions - at least for a little while - and that I stood a good chance of helping. Perhaps I would have felt differently seeing it in person, mind you.

In reply to Trangia:

Terrifying video.


To begin with I thought he decided to float the backswell out on his back instead of fighting it, and then swim back in with the next wave. Then I decided he'd probably passed out or just ceased up.

Bloody lucky that the waves were generally driving them onto a sandy beach and not into rocks, would have been game over then.

In reply to wintertree:


I agree. I would like to think I would help but by doing so, you or I would be making a conscious decision to put ourselves in danger to help.

But For people to sit in an armchair in a warm house, watch a video a few times, have a cup of tea and pass judgment on someone's actions/failure to act is completely wrong. Noone knows how they would react, the guy himself said afterwards he shouldn't have gone into help, and was in danger.

Anyway, enough ranting. It ended well, that's what matters. Hopefully some people will watch it and think twice.

In reply to Trangia:
Sadly many people are neither aware or mindful of dangers of the sea. Surprisingly we have relatively few deaths each year. Tragically, we do have some. Sadly lay rescuers often become victims. Even trained individuals make mistakes of judgement or unexpected occurrences like head or other injury and can die.

I would never blame someone for lack of knowledge, nor for lack of action of getting in the water in that scenario. If the video was from recent days then entering the water to perform a rescue is highly dangerous.

Winter sea Water is cold. on entry You will probably hyperventilate for about a minute. you will have useful function of your hand for about 5 minutes (perhaps longer this year as the water is a balmy 8 degrees) unless you are old, infirm or have poor circulation, where it will be less. Your ability to coordinate and use you limbs will reduce and you will probably drown from being unable to move your limbs to swim. Wearing winter clothing may inhibit your ability to swim.

Waves will vary in size and freak waves can be 3 or 4 times the size of the 'normal wave '. From a beach with Surf you may also get caught in a rip current which could deliver you tens or hundreds of metres off shore very quickly unless you can escape its power sideways.

Stay safe... keep well away from the sea edge in rough weather


Having said that, I'm off to play in the sea now...

In reply to Dave B:






>

I agree with you and others who advocate not putting yourself in danger, and that is the general advice to people who find themselves in such situations.

It's very logical.

But we are human beings and don't think such matters through logically when we see a loved one drowning, in this case the woman's husband, she acted instinctively to try and save him. I don't know about the relationship to the man in yellow but he may have been a relative.

I don't know about the rest of you but if I saw my partner or child drowning I'd have a go. I'd like to add that I hope I wouldn't have been foolish enough to lead them into such a dangerous situation in the first place, but again people's concept of what is dangerous is often poor. Maybe these people were townies unfamiliar with the sea and it's unpredictability?

Who knows? But I think we need to show some empathy to such people when they react instinctively to try and save life rather than dong the "correct" thing.

In reply to Trangia:

Of course, and instinctively I would most likely put myself in danger too to rescue someone. That's how you win medals (tongue in cheek emoticon).
I have every sympathy with rescuers and never criticise someone trying to do good in the heat of the moment like that. In fact, I support then, whatever the outcome .

I think I just wanted to
A) counter the 'who does nothing in that situation? ' view that is put forward
B) inform people of some of the risks, which they might not always be aware of.


Stay safe

In reply to Trangia:

It's all very well to say 'I would do this..'or 'there's no way I'd do that...', but until I was actually in that situation (hopefully never) there's no way to tell how I would react so I'm not really in a place to critisise anyone for thier actions.
Luckily and happily they all survived

In reply to Dave B:

Near my home there is a fresh water flood plain behind the sea wall which is criss crossed by dikes and ditches, and having raised footpaths over it. About 20 years ago a young mother was walking there with her toddler and the toddler fell down a 5ft bank into one of the ditches where the water was 2 ft deep (the bottom was visible). The woman went into panic and started screaming for help. After about 10 mins a dog walker heard her and came over. He immediately scrambled down the bank and pulled the child out. .However attempts to resuscitate the child failed, and carrying the child they ran to a cottage about a mile away here they telephoned for an ambulance. The child died.

At the Coroner's enquiry it transpired that the woman could not swim. Neither could the man who had attempted to rescue the child. His evidence confirmed that the water was only 2 ft deep. The Coroner, possibly unfairly given the woman's loss, heavily criticised her for not having a go the moment the child had fallen in. She said that she had been frightened to enter the water.

The Coroner also added the comment that swimming and life saving were life skills every one should be taught at school and that in this day and age (that was 20 years ago) no adult, particularly a parent, should not be able to swim.

I do have some sympathy for that view, because during my life I have encountered 3 drownings of children (including the one I write about), were non swimming parents had been unable to rescue their child. Although child drownings are relatively rare, they do occur.

Anyway, that's a bit of an aside from the subject of the above video.

In reply to Trangia:

The elderly couple did survive.