SA heroes rescue women from sinking car in Hawaii – WATCH
Two South Africans have been hailed as Good Samaritans by US media for rescuing a couple of women from a sinking car in Hawaii. Luckily for the women, a Cape Town NSRI Hout Bay rescue swimmer, on a holiday to Hawaii, and his South African friend, living abroad in Hawaii, as well as a fellow […]
Two South Africans have been hailed as Good Samaritans by US media for rescuing a couple of women from a sinking car in Hawaii. Luckily for the women, a Cape Town NSRI Hout Bay rescue swimmer, on a holiday to Hawaii, and his South African friend, living abroad in Hawaii, as well as a fellow sailor, happened to be in the area to assist in their rescue.
The NSRI rescue swimmer, Martin Wesemann, and his SA expat friend Sean, along with a fellow sailor named Tony assisted the two sisters who were struggling to escape from their sinking car.
The women said they had been following instructions from their GPS when they accidentally drove down a boat slip-way into the Honokohau Marina and Small Boat Harbour, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
In one news broadcast, the reporter notes: ”Two women lucky to be alive thanks to these Good Samaritans.”
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon, 29 April.
Martin says:
”Myself, a South African friend, Sean Hutchinson (Sean lives in a Hawaii), and friends of ours, had returned from a cruise on Sean’s boat.
“We were on the boat next to the slip-way when we noticed the vehicle, with a female driver and a female passenger, drive past us down the slipway without pausing and the vehicle entered the water before floating further into the harbour and begin to sink.
“Both ladies were preparing to escape through the vehicle’s front windows and naturally Sean, and our fellow sailor Tony, and myself jumped into the water to assist them.
“We were able to help them to escape the sinking vehicle, through the front driver and front passenger windows, getting them both safely to shore without incident.”
Police, Fire and Rescue Services and an ambulance arrived promptly on the scene.
By that stage Martin had established a towline to the vehicle (which had been totally submerged by then) using a rope.
“The towline was established to the axle (as there was no tow-bar on the vehicle) under the car, under water, using a bowline knot,” says Martin.
“The two ladies were not injured and we believe the vehicle navigation system may have accidentally led them to drive down the slip-way.
“We were in the right place at the right time to help them,” says our humble South African hero, Martin.
An ‘INSIDE EDITION’ video captures the moment the South Africans dived in to help the women. Martin’s the one with the grey shirt, Tony the red shirt and Sean the black. The