A six-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital after being swept away from the beach and out to sea on an inflatable swan, North Wales Live reports.
Ambulance, coastguard and police attended the incident at Morfa Bychan, also known as Black Rock Sands in Gwynedd as a 57-year-old granddad swam out to rescue the child, who was face down in the water.
Sam McKeeder, from Tywyn, described the moment he realised the boy was “totally unconscious”.
Emergency services were called to the incident at Black Rock Sands beach near Porthmadog in Gwynedd just after 2.40pm on Saturday, August 8.
An eye witness told North Wales Live they saw a boy being “swept out to sea” on an inflatable swan.
It is understood the six-year-old’s father dialled 999 to report him drifting away from the beach and into deeper water.
Mr McKeeder, who works as a builder, said he swam out to help the boy.
The granddad described finding the child face down in the water after coming off the inflatable toy.
He said: “He was totally unconscious. I turned him around and patted him on his back and then a lot of water and sick came up. He started breathing again.”
Mr McKeeder helped the boy back to shore, where paramedics were waiting and he was given oxygen.
The Welsh Ambulance Service, Coastguard and North Wales Police attended the incident at Morfa Bychan – Black Rock Sands.
The child was airlifted by the Coastguard rescue helicopter to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.
Black Rock Sands is a wide, open beach with low-tide caves and rock pools. The nearby sand dunes are a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
