7News weatherman filmed in dramatic beach rescue during live cross
A 7News weatherman has been filmed in a dramatic rescue while delivering a live cross from a Gold Coast beach.
Paul Burt was presenting the weather on Thursday from Surfers Paradise when he noticed a young boy struggling in the surf.
The presenter was telling viewers about an innocent-looking gutter in the ocean behind him when he noticed the commotion and leapt into action.
Abandoning his post, he rushed into the surf to help a group of people rescue the youngster caught in the surf.
The boy, 10, was from Pakistan and was reportedly visiting Australia with his family.
"It’s that type of scenario that drags people out," Mr Burt told 7News.
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Rejoining his camera crew after the impromptu heroics – soggy shirt and all – he explained the scary situation.
"They got sucked out, it was a 10-year-old boy you can see on the beach here," he said as crews treated the boy on the sand behind him.
"[The boy] got dragged out into this fierce gutter, and of course into this rip.
"Being of a light weight he managed to stay afloat and come in adjacent to the southern side of the gutter.
"About four or five of us jumped in and basically pulled him back to the beach.
"He’s living, he’s breathing, he’s conscious, he’s talking - the ambulance here are doing their best to obviously keep him alert.
"There’s no doubt he would have taken a fair bit of water in."
The weatherman reminded people that ocean gutters, even if they look innocuous, can cause trouble for inexperienced swimmers.
"These gutters here are very, very dangerous," Mr Burt said. "We’ve had half a dozen rescues on the Gold Coast here this week."
Gutters are patches of ocean characterised by deeper, darker water, where the waves aren't breaking, and can sometimes appears like a trench running across the beach.
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