Surf victim was a NSW lifesaver
The surfer who died in a freak accident near Margaret River yesterday was a lifesaver praised for his part in a beach rescue in NSW in 2012.
John Robins and several other lifesavers helped two women in trouble off rocks between Avoca Beach and Winney Bay.
Mr Robins moved to Avoca beach about five years ago.
He died yesterday after being hit in the groin or the abdomen by a surfboard, which cut his femoral artery.
Those in the water at Surfers Point thought that Mr Robins had been attacked by a shark because of the amount of blood in the water.
Local surfer Joerg Jordi, who was in the water when the man was hurt about 11am, said he left a trail of blood as he tried to paddle to the beach.
“I was riding a wave and that guy said ‘I’ve got to get out’,” Mr Jordi said
“He didn’t say ‘I’m injured’ or anything like that, so I just thought he had enough.”
Moments later, Mr Jordi saw the blood and warned nearby surfers to get out of the water because he thought there had been a shark attack.
“I thought ‘that’s a lot of blood’,” he said.
Other surfers helped the injured man reach shore and desperately tried to stem the blood loss with towels.
Sen. Const Alwin Kruger said local surfers started CPR on the beach.
A passing doctor and nurse took over resuscitation efforts without success and police officers also helped.
The man was rushed to the local hospital but could not be saved.
Sen. Const Kruger said the man was a fit surfer, who was on holidays with his family when the accident occurred.
He said it was a tragic time for the 51-year-old’s relatives, who were trying to deal with the immediate shock of the man’s death.
Margaret River’s Surfers Point is home to the Telstra Drug Aware Pro Margaret River surfing competition.
Mr Jordi returned to the break a couple of hours after the incident and said there were no surfers in the water because it just “didn’t seem right”.
He said while there was “always stuff happening” in the water with people hitting the reef and being injured, he had never seen anything like this before.
A Perth man died at Surfers Point last year after striking his head on the reef.
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
