Woman dies after rescue from boat

Press, 28 January 1982, Page 2

Woman dies after rescue from boat

PA Auckland A woman who was rescued from a, newly - bought runabout which was holed off St Heliers Bay, Auckland, and flipped over on Tuesday evening died, in. Auckland Hospital yesterday.; She; was. Rosa Antonio Smith, aged 36, also known as Gonzales, of Tennessee Avenue, Balmoral, a Filipinio' who recently married a New Zealander. ’

Her sons, Victor, aged 14. and Marvin, aged 12, her daughter, Rowane, aged 6, and Lerma Francisco Vivar, aged 34, of Remuera, were discharged after being treated for exposure. Mrs Smith was trapped under the upturned boat, the children, Mrs Vivian, and Leon Rex Howe, aged 47, of Remuera, were rescued by three youths who swam about 300 m to the boat after hearing cries for help. The youths, David Manuel, aged 16, Brent Ford, aged 18, and Logan Jones, aged 17, had been walking along Tamaki Drive at the' time. David said, “It. was still light but they seemed a' long way offshore. No-one else seemed to be round so we stripped to our underpants and began swimming out. I am not really a good swimmer and I was pretty exhausted by the . time. I reached the overturned boat.”' " ■ . - • Brent said that he had turned back for the beach when he had met one of the two boys from the boat trying to make shore. The boy had not appearedto have been able to swim but had kept afloat using a lifejacket. ,

David and Logan found a man and another person clinging to the boat who told them .that other people were trapped underneath_the craft. David said, “Logan dived under and'found a woman, a young / # girl, ■. and a boy trapped under the half cabin. He came back up for air', saying the trapped air was very hot and stale.” ' Logan, said that he had dived, back under and had pulled Rowane out from the cabin by her legs. They were joined by Michael Buchanan,, aged 19, who had been jogging -along the road-and who had siyum out to help. Re dived under the boat and. grabbed the boy’s legs, pulling him free. Logan said that Mrs Smith had been unconscious and had been too heavy for him to pull out when he had dived under again. He and David had, huddled the two children against the boat, trying to keep them calm and warm, while Michael had rescued Mrs Smith.

Michael and David gave Mrs Smith mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as she \vas taken ashore .in a" dinghy which had been rowed out, by another person.-' Thej others were, taken ashore ;■ another;.'rescue boat • arid .were .given first‘did by an off-duty- 'doctor’ and, nurse until ambulancemen arrived.

David, Brent, and Logan were modest yesterday about, their part in the rescue, saying that they had acted instinctively. David has. promised himself that he will improve his swimming this year. He learned water first aid in form four and Michael had learned resuscitation on a St John Ambulance Association course.