Aaron Stone of Harbour Breton is probably considering himself one very lucky boy today. Aaron, 12, fell into the water near the South Coast Marina on August 7. And the incident could have been fatal if not for the quick action of a civilian RCMP member aboard the RCMP vessel “Murray”.
Aaron said, “I’m thankful the RCMP vessel was nearby when I fell in the water as they helped save my life.”
The following is taken directly from a RCMP release:
The RCMP Police Vessel "Murray" was secured at South Coast Marina, Harbour Breton after patrols of the South Coast of Newfoundland. The crew set in for what they thought would be an uneventful evening. They were wrong.
At one point the ships engineer came rushing down to the galley advising the rest of the crew that a kid had just gone overboard from the wharf and into the water. The child was lodged in the water between the wharf and a 35-foot fishing vessel and could be crushed or drowned.
The youth was thrashing about in the water screaming "Save Me! Save Me!" The quick thinking police vessel engineer Leonard Pink ran forward to grab a boat hook (Leonard Pink is a Civilian Member of the RCMP presently stationed on the PV MURRAY as the ships engineer).
The crew could see a young male in the water dangerously positioned between the wharf and the large boat. Pink gave the child the hook to grab onto and guided him over to the swim grid of the Police Vessel Murray, which was about 20 feet away.
Two other crewmembers removed the young fellow from the water and on to the Police Vessel Murray.
The youth advised that he was diabetic and that he had an insulin pump attached to his belt and that he wasn't supposed to get it wet. RCMP members applied the correct medical precautions for this issue.
The young fellow was able to catch his breath. He was obviously upset over the incident. He said that he was just playing around the wharf and fell in.
The members attended to some minor medical issues and determined that Stone was none the worse for the ordeal- but he could have been.
Local residents observed the members saving the youth from the water and praised the quick thinking and action.
.jpg)
.jpg)
