Michelle Roos was in the right place at the right time; while in Ballito for the NSRI Awards, she saved a toddler swept away by a rip current.
Ballito, South Africa (30 July 2024) – Michelle Roos was in KZN with her parents because her father was being honoured at the annual NSRI Awards Evening. While she was at the beach with her mom, she too had a moment to save a life. The amazing rescue was recently shared by the NSRI and Michelle is being hailed a hero for her action!
The NSRI held its 57th Awards ceremony and Annual General Meeting earlier this month, honouring members of the public who selflessly performed life-saving rescues in challenging conditions, volunteers who have given so much of their time and sharing exciting news between all the stations in attendance. Michelle herself is now one of these heroes.
Michelle has been an NSRI volunteer for the past 7 years and gives her time to the NSRI Mossel Bay team. The whole family are committed to supporting the National Sea Rescue Institute.
Mike Bishop, the NSRI Ballito Station Commander, shared that his team got the call from Charlene, Michelle’s mother, and they activated their rescue team to help.
When Michelle got to the water, she found a toddler in the surf zone. She managed to finally get the toddler to safety. She knew there was a rip current at play; it started pulling her in when she got to her knees. Despite facing many challenges with the rescue, she took the risk to save the toddler’s life and it was a success!
Michelle advises in situations like this to call for help! The NSRI emergency number is 087 094 9774. Save it, and it will save a life. She shares a few other tips, as does Mike Bishop in the heartwarming video below.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is a registered non-profit organisation that is committed to drowning prevention and focused on saving lives, changing lives and creating futures for those threatened by drowning in South Africa.
“We are unique in South Africa as the only non-profit organisation focusing exclusively on safeguarding lives and livelihoods in South African waters through education, prevention, and rescue operations. We envision a nation where drowning incidents are minimised, ensuring the safety of all.
The NSRI strives to innovate, constantly evolve, and extend our water safety initiatives through empowerment and visibility. Our volunteers are on call 24/7 and are reliant on donations and sponsorships.”
Please visit www.nsri.org.za for more information.
by 