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Watch the terrifying moment passenger is thrown into the ocean after the tour boat he was on smashed into huge wave and became airborne – as others are rushed to hospital
- Tourist swept overboard after huge wave smashes into a boat off southern NSW
- The man was at the mercy of the raging ocean but luckily drifted towards help
- A bodyboarder brought the man onto the rocks where ambulance crews waited
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A man is lucky to be alive after he was swept overboard into a raging ocean when a huge wave engulfed a small tour boat, causing three people to be taken to hospital.
The boat, belonging to local tour company Montague Island Adventures, was battling the elements on its way out of the Narooma inlet, on NSW’s far south coast, when the wave crashed into the craft at around 11.25am on Wednesday.
The boat, attempted to clear the breakwall in heavy surf, was getting thrown higher and higher on each wave before it attempted to crest a final huge one.
The final surge caused the boat to become almost vertical and airborne with all of the orange-life jacketed tourists desperately holding onto the boat.
However one tourist on the open rear deck failed to stay in the boat, plunging off the back and into the surging water despite another passenger’s lunge to grab him.
A man was swept overboard from a small tourist boat heading out from the NSW south coast on Wednesday
Graham Martin, who is co-founder of HR software provider Worknice, was watching from shore and captured the near tragedy on video.
‘It was all super crazy,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Waves were crashing over him and he was at the mercy of currents.’
‘He was lucky to drift around to the north where a bodyboarder helped him onto the rocks.’
Mr Martin said the man was conscious but couldn’t tell what state he was in otherwise.
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The boat, belonging to the Montague Island Adventures tour company, was almost engulfed by the huge wave
Emergency services arrived quickly at the scene and were there to treat the man, aged in his 50s, as well as other passengers on the boat who suffered injuries from being thrown around in the maelstrom.
Ambulance NSW told Daily Mail Australia the man was injured in the chest area and was having trouble breathing as well as being in shock.
The journey out of Narooma inlet on Wednesday morning was beset with rough conditions from the start
He was taken to a local hospital in a stable condition.
Two other passengers were taken to separate hospitals with suspect broken bones or fractures, while four others were treated for relatively minor injuries.
Graham Martin watched the drama unfold and said the 50-year-old man thrown overboard was lucky to survive
The company that owns the boat, Montague Island Adventures, runs tours to explore the protected nature reserve of Montague Island, which is 9km offshore.
They also offer snorkeling with seals, whale watching and fishing charters.
The company has been contacted for comment.
Thankfully the man thrown overboard was able to stay afloat and drifted close enough to a bodyboarder to be rescued, while two other passengers also needed hospital treatment
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