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'I was effectively dead' - man saved from drowning

Jonathan Morris
BBC News
Jacky Meinke A man in a white hat and striped shirt next to a woman in a pink top with an orange heart shape behind them.Jacky Meinke
Chris and Jacky Meinke avoided tragedy at the beach

A Guernsey woman saved the life of her husband after he collapsed in the sea during a swim.

Jacky Meinke, 67, raced to the side of Chris, 77, after she turned round and saw him floating face down "effectively dead" in the water at Port Grat on Friday afternoon.

Putting his head over her shoulder, first-aid trained Mrs Meinke said she "walloped his back and he spluttered and came to" before she and fellow swimmer Rosie Mclauchlan, who saw what was happening, hauled him back to the beach.

Mr Meinke was checked over by paramedics and spent the night in hospital but the reason for his collapse is a mystery.

A long sandy beach with a lifebelt holder and a sign.
The pair were waist-deep in the sea at Port Grat when the drama unfolded

The "scary" scene unfolded as the pair waded out to sea at the popular bathing spot at about 16:30 BST.

Mrs Meinke said: "I heard a splash and carried on swimming, thinking he was behind me.

"When I looked round his head was face down in the water.

"I started screaming his name and grabbed his head out of the water, he was completely white."

Mrs Meinke said: "I put his head on my shoulder, walloped his back and he spluttered and came to.

"He was coughing, coughing, coughing."

"He was literally drowning," said Ms Mclauchlan, who plunged through the sea to help Mrs Meinke.

"I was amazing how quickly someone can get into difficulty."

After the pair dragged Mr Meinke back the beach, they put him in the recovery position, before paramedics arrived.

Mr Meinke, who swims regularly, said: "I was effectively dead.

"The hospital thinks I had vertigo, I just didn't know which way was up.

"It wasn't a stroke, I just collapsed. It's never happened before."

'So grateful to them'

He said he was now waiting for the results of scans to pinpoint the cause of his collapse.

"It was very scary, something happened to disorientate me and we shall find out what it was," he said.

Both thanked Ms Mclauchlan and passers-by who ran to get a defibrillator, called 999 and provided a warm blanket for Mr Meinke as he lay on the beach.

"I am so grateful to them all," said Mrs Meinke.

"It was very scary and I'm not a panicky person, but I'm just relieved he's OK."

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