A 19-year-old Australian surf photographer has been placed in an induced coma after being found face down in the water off the coast of Tahiti.
Byron Mcloughlin was found on an inflatable bodyboard at Teahupo’o, which will host the Olympic surfing games later this year, by American photographer Ryan Craig and local bodyboarder Angelo Fararie.
When they turned him over, his lips were blue and he was foaming at the mouth.
Amid eight-foot waves, his rescuers managed to bring the unconscious teenager to shore, where he was rushed to hospital and placed in a coma.
However, by Friday morning Mr Mcloughlin was sufficiently recovered to thank his rescuers for saving his life.
“I don’t remember much, but I’m very grateful to everyone around me who was on the scene and acted quickly,” he posted on social media.
Mr Mcloughlin was rescued just 30 minutes earlier after ending up in a lagoon, with a former tour Surfer Michel Bourez brings him back to the lineup.
The 19-year-old, who lives in Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches, had previously had close calls with disaster while in the ocean.
Surf photographer Byron Mcloughlin (pictured left) is lucky to be alive after he was found face down and unconscious on the coast of Tahiti.
These two men found Mr Mcloughlin on an inflatable bodyboard off Teahupo’o
Two years ago, she said she nearly drowned at Padang Padang beach in Bali after a marathon six-hour photo shoot.
“I knew I was in trouble, I didn’t know the place yet because it was my first time there. It was getting darker and darker and I decided to scream for help,” she told The Inertia.
Fortunately, two South African surfers came to his aid, paddling out while he held on to the leashes of their surfboards.
“I remember panicking and telling both of them that we needed to call the right help – police, ambulance, etc.,” she said.
“But I was constantly reminded of where it was: Padang Padang. Everything here is on a cliff. No one can go down by boat or jet ski.”
Mr Mcloughlin, who lives in Dee Why, a suburb on Sydney’s northern beaches, has had close calls with tragedy in the past while practising his profession.
However, weighed down by the weight of Mr Mcloughlin and the heavy photographic equipment, the surfers began to tire.
They decided that one of the surfers should paddle out to get help while the other stayed with him.
After an anxious wait of about an hour, they saw lights and heard whistling and the surfer was able to catch a wave, carrying Mr Mcloughlin to safety.
“As soon as you think you’ve completely figured out Mother Ocean, she will quickly humble you and remind you that you are completely at her mercy,” he said of the experience.
