When our very own ‘City Clean’ workers Thomas Brazier and Luke MacDonald stopped for a lunch break at West Lakes, they would not have imagined they were about to perform a life-saving act.
The pair had just finished emptying bins at Tiranna Reserve as part of the new ‘City Clean’ route, when they heard commotion from the middle of the lake.
A woman had decided to test her swimming skills in the lake yet underestimated the breadth of the challenge and the water. As a result, she was desperately clinging to a buoy in exasperation approximately 100 metres from shore.
Quick-thinking Luke and Thomas assessed the situation and realised, despite calls from residents to jump in and save the distressed woman, that swimming out to her was not the best option.
Thomas immediately called ‘000’ while Luke hurried to the neighbouring houses to see if they had a vessel to use to rescue the woman.
Fortunately, an elderly resident soon came running out with a kayak which allowed Luke to paddle out and complete the rescue while Thomas was on the phone to the ambulance service.
Luke and the woman were only 10 metres from shore when, the paramedics arrived. Luckily the woman did not sustain any injuries and was extremely grateful for the kind act from Luke and Thomas.
“For us it wasn’t much of a panic as we could see she was clutching the buoy and generally ok (at that time), but the bystanders were panicking,” Thomas said.
“I’ve had some kayak experience in the few nice months that we have here in SA, so at least I knew what I was doing there,” Luke said.
“The last thing you think you’re going to do is paddle into the lake and help someone.”
We’re proud to have people like Luke and Thomas in our workforce and in our City, your efforts mean the world.