Woman swims man with broken leg to safety at Hopeman pier as Coastguard issues fresh warning over jumping into water
A LOCAL woman was in the right place at the right time – and not for the first time – to swim a man with a broken leg to safety at Hopeman pier.
The man slipped while jumping 'parapet long' at the pier at 6.40pm on Wednesday, August 12, landing on the harbour wall and breaking his leg.
Fortunately, Rona Valentine Birnie, who also saved a man from drowning at the pier last year, jumped in after the man and swam him to safety before Burghead and Buckie Coastguard rescue teams, Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation and the Coastguard helicopter arrived on the scene.
Casualty care with given by paramedics and the man was flown directly to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Ms Birnie Valentine, who uses the pier regularly with her children, wants to ensure that people can continue to safely enjoy using the area.
She said: "The guy landed on the harbour wall just a metre away from me and fell into the open sea.
"I jumped in and swam him into the harbour beach. Luckily quite a few medical people were on the beach and the ambulance took over.
"It was a horrible break and everyone who saw it was in some shock.
"People are talking about banning jumping off the parapet but I think they should just ban the parapet long – where they try to clear the rest of the harbour wall out into the sea.
"Children love jumping off the parapet and the majority of people are fine – this guy was just really unlucky."
The Coastguard has issued another warning after the incident, with this just one of a number to take place in Moray recently.
Colin Wood, senior coastal operations officer for Moray and North Aberdeenshire, said: "Our warnings about jumping into shallow water have been consistently ignored across the Moray area this year – we do not want to spoil anyone’s fun but want people to be aware of the damage that can be caused when you jump from height into shallow water.
"There has been one near drowning and four serious injuries in separate incidents involving "tombstoning” across the Moray area in the last four weeks.
"Do not jump into the unknown, make sure that the water is deep enough and that there are no underwater hazards like fishing gear, discarded items or trees that you could land on.
"A simple slip or misjudgement could see you suffer with life-threatening and changing injuries. In a coastal emergency, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”