A local surf instructor jumped into the water to rescue a drowning summer off a beach in Fort Lauderdale Thursday morning, giving him CPR before Fire Rescue arrived, officials say.
The swimmer is now in the hospital in critical condition.
A little before 8 a.m., the surf instructor saw the swimmer partially submerged about 100 yards offshore near 2000 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Garrett Pingol wrote in a media release.
The surf instructor paddled his surfboard out to the swimmer and got him onto the board, all while trying to keep his head above the water, then paddled back to the beach, where he began CPR on the swimmer while shouting for help.
Off-duty Fort Lauderdale lifeguards who happened to be in the middle of training on the beach witnessed what was happening and notified on-duty Ocean Rescue lifeguards, Pingol said. The lifeguards took over CPR while waiting for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue to arrive.
Fire Rescue transported the swimmer to Broward Health in critical condition, Pingol said. He didn’t have any updates on the swimmer’s condition as of 9:30 a.m. Thursday.