Zikhitha Spambo, who nearly drowned in Melkbosstrand, has been reunited with the team of NSRI rescuers who saved her life.
|||One day Zikhitha Spambo was pulled from the ocean in a near-drowning incident by volunteers of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
The next, she was sitting on the lap of the rescue organisation’s chief executive as he brought the cheer back to her holiday.
On Friday, December 16, children alerted the Melkbosstrand volunteers to a possible drowning.
NSRI commander Rhine Barnes said rescue swimmer David Nurick ran into the surf and pulled Zikhitha, 11, from the water.
She was then taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
On Saturday, NSRI chief executive Ian Wienburg went with the Table View Rotary Club to host a Christmas party for the children at Somerset Hospital.
It was only after the party that Wienburg realised the girl sitting on his lap earlier was the same girl his team had rescued the previous day.
“I felt so proud of the team. She was floating face down. Then she was sitting on my lap. I’ve never been in a situation like that,” he said. - Cape Argus
esther.lewis@inl.co.za