Schoolboys rescue girl from car in pool
Published: May 28, 2007
Little Luyanda Mhlongo has two new heroes, two Pinetown schoolboys who saved her life and her mother Cindy believes they should be nominated for an award.
Three-year-old Luyanda was pulled unconscious from her family’s car after it had plummeted into the swimming pool.
A rescue that could so easily have turned to tragedy will remain etched in the memory of Cindy and of schoolboys Barney Swart, 17, and Grant Nel, 16. The quick action of the boys saved the drowning toddler.
Speaking on Monday morning, Cindy said she wants the brave schoolboys to be given an award for their courage even though the modest rescuers say they don’t want any further recognition than a “thank you”.
Recalling the rescue, Swart said, “I think of it over and over again.”
The Pinetown Boys’ High pupils Swart and Nel were at home on a recent Wednesday afternoon when the incident occurred.
The drama began when the two boys were in the kitchen of Swart’s home in New Germany, rustling up a snack for supper.
“Suddenly we heard this huge bang coming from next door. It sounded like an explosion. Then we heard this loud scream. We thought somebody was being attacked,” recalled Nel.
The sight that greeted the two boys as they hurtled over their fence was “the weirdest sight you could ever have seen”.
A Toyota Tazz had reversed down a driveway and landed in the swimming pool, wheels up.
That was when the nightmare really began. A frantic Cindy shouted at the boys that her child was trapped inside.
“Barney and I jumped into the pool and managed to push the car over so that we could get to Luyanda who was in the front passenger seat.”
“That’s when we really panicked,” said Nel.
“Every second seemed like a lifetime. We knew that this child could die. The pressure of the water was so great that at first the doors just would not budge.”
But somehow the teenagers managed to smash the windscreen and drag the unconscious Luyanda to safety.
“I have never known a feeling of panic like this,” said Swart. “We were willing her not to die. She looked so helpless.”
By this time, more help had arrived and one person gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and managed to get Luyanda breathing again.
“When she began to cry, that was an incredible moment,” said Swart.
The Grade 11 pupils have now formed a close bond with the lively pre-schooler, who accidentally stepped on the car’s handbrake, and enjoy spending time with her.
Luyanda also has a special place in her heart for her two heroes and runs to greet them whenever they visit her. Swart and Nel are very modest, even shy to talk about what they did and believe that “anyone in the same circumstance would have done the same thing”.
The teenagers thanked neighbours Hayley Kalp, Terry Allison and Kyle van Gent who also played a big part in the rescue.
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