MIRACULOUS ESCAPE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 38, 12 January 1943, Page 5

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE

INFANT GIRLS EXPERIENCE

RESCUE FROM RIVER

CERTAIN TRAGEDY AVERTED

A miraculous escape from -what appears to have been am •"almost certain double drowning Natality occurred an Sunday when two little girls Margaret and Natalie, the infant • 'daughters of Mr and Mrs B. Ben- • son of Goulstone Road, were res- - cued in a semi-conscious condition by three young High School ">boys who happened' to notice themi as they were being slowly ?swept along by the current of the river as it runs parallel to ZLanding Road.

The boys concerned were Kelvin and John Crozier and Leslie Good.all all of. Whakatane, who having finislied their swim in the river were •.proceeding to dress when they noticed the two children drifting by tinder the water. For a moment they thought them to be Maori children swimming but when, they fail- • ed to come up 'to the surface they lost no time in effecting a rescue. •Brought to the banks, resuscitation was applied and one child regained consciousness fairly easily. Sitting 'lip it began to cry. The other child •however was in a particularly bad iplight and had to be worked on for ;a considerable time before she lineally began to stir. The two little, ngirls, with the aid. of a. number of

residents who had gathered were then -taken home.

It transpires that they had wandered off on their own and unknown to their parents had gone to the river bank for a paddle. It: is surmised that they went beyond their depth, or else were trapped by the •steepness of the bank which shelves very abruptly at this point. Both children appear to be none the •worse for their close call, but thev •may thank their lucky stars that their rescuers were providentiallv ■an the bank as they drifted by.