Caloundra Bar jetskier in intensive care
A LIFE VEST may have saved a man after an airborne jet ski came crashing down on his head at Kings Beach.
Lifeguard Eli Steele immediately sprung into action when he spotted the 45-year-old man come off his jet ski while wave jumping at the Caloundra bar.
When Mr Steele reached the man he was unconscious and face down in the water.
The Brisbane man was on the Coast enjoying the four-foot swell with his nephew when the morning went terribly wrong.
The man was in Nambour General Hospital’s intensive care unit in a critical condition last night.
“When we reached him he wasn’t in a good way,” Mr Steele said.
The nephew and Mr Steele worked together to lift the semi-conscious man on to the jet ski.
They travelled several hundred metres back to shore to a waiting paramedics.
Lifeguard assistant supervisor Trent Robinson said the man had swallowed a lot of water and was having trouble breathing.
Lifeguards used airway bags to pump oxygen into the man’s lungs as a priority over the gash to his head. “His life vest probably saved his life. If it wasn’t for that things could have been a lot worse,” Mr Robinson said.
“If he had been wearing a helmet it could have been a different story. “Always wear a helmet when wave jumping, especially on a day like this when the waves are a bit bigger.”
The incident occurred at low tide on the bar, so the jet ski may have hit a sandbank.
“The man was in a bad way. He was moaning and in so much pain,” Mr Robinson said. “We just hope he is alright.”
Caloundra Volunteer Coast Guard retrieved the two jet skis abandoned in the rescue.