[Image: FMT]
What started as a routine surf session turned into a dramatic rescue when 16-year-old surfer Jason Palmer spotted two people being mercilessly dragged out to sea by a powerful rip current.
Without hesitation, the Port Alfred teen sprang back into the water, his surfboard becoming a lifeline for the two kids who were facing a threatening situation.
The two siblings, a 12-year-old and a 19-year-old, were struggling against the unrelenting pull of the tide. As Palmer paddled towards them, their desperate mother, 42, also plunged into the waters in a frantic bid to save her children. But the ocean showed no mercy to her either.
With the odds stacked against all three of them, Palmer displayed extraordinary courage. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) deputy station commander at Port Alfred, Gerrit Cloete, explained via IOL that Palmer loaded both casualties on his surfboard and paddled them towards the shore.
But the ordeal wasn’t over. As he reached the impact zone, he made an incredible split-second decision—he pulled the mother onto the board as well, bearing the weight of all three lives as he navigated the surf.
“After I got them, I had to go and help her,” Jason said via News24.
Reflecting on the event, he added: “I was feeling proud, but at the same time, I was a bit shocked, too.”
While the siblings escaped unscathed, their mother exhibited symptoms of non-fatal drowning and was rushed to a local hospital. Fortunately, after receiving medical treatment, she was discharged.
One of the rescued, 19-year-old Nitika Sander, relived her frightening ordeal.
“My mom was sitting on the sand, watching us, taking pictures. All of a sudden, we couldn’t touch the ground with our feet. It was just … it happened so quickly, and then we saw Jason surfing. We called out to him, and he came.”
“Jason gave me his bodyboard. He got off and swam towards my brother, Josh, and helped him get on the board and then helped us get to safety,” Nitika said.
Palmer’s heroic actions didn’t go unnoticed. The NSRI commended the young surfer for his selflessness and quick thinking, crediting him with saving three lives. Cloete also acknowledged the swift response of an NSRI volunteer’s friend, who saw the unfolding emergency on social media and immediately raised the alarm.
Emergency teams, including NSRI rescue swimmers, a rescue vehicle, and the NSRI’s Rescue 11 Alpha craft, raced to the scene. However, by the time they arrived, Palmer had already ensured the family’s safe return to shore.
Chantelle Palmer, Jason’s mother, could not be prouder of her son’s bravery.
“You don’t expect that from your baby because he’s the baby of the three boys. He just turned 16 in January, so I was very proud of him,” she said.
A moment of sheer adrenaline. A battle against the sea. And one teenage surfer who refused to let the ocean claim three lives.
