Hero paddle boarder tells of dramatic moment he rescued tombstoner who belly-flopped 200ft into the sea from Durdle Door and broke his back – before carer gave victim CPR on the beach
- Two paddle boarders rescued the jumper from the seabed after he jumped
- Shocking footage shows the man leap into shallow waters at Durdle Door
- He suffered a broken back after the council warned people not to jump
- Do you know the tombstoner? Email [email protected]
Two hero paddle boarders have spoken of the shocking moment they rushed to the rescue of a drowning tombstone diver who broke his back after jumping from a 200ft rock.
Flatmates Michael Wiley and Dylan Kirkwood positioned themselves under the famous rocky archway of Durdle Door in Dorset when they saw several people begin to jump off the top of it into the sea.
Drone footage taken of the incident shows the reckless jumper in black swimming shorts leap from Durdle Door into the shallow water below.
The Paddle-boarders can be seen racing to his aid, pulling him onto a large inflatable unicorn before swimming him to shore where he was taken to South Hampton hospital to be treated for his injuries.
Paddle boarders had to rescue to tombstoner after he jumped from Durdle Door and did not resurface
Mr Wiley said he found the casualty lying on the seabed 20ft down and it took five attempts for him to dive down before he could grab hold of him.
He said: ‘He hit the water so hard that he didn’t even come back up to the surface. He went straight down.
‘In a state of panic me and my flatmate Dylan Kirkwood both jumped off our boards and we were diving around trying to find him.
‘I finally managed to locate him and I could just see a white body on the bottom of the floor. It was so deep that no one could get to him.
‘It was a real state of panic. Everybody was shouting and screaming and it took me about five attempts to get to him.
Michael Wiley (pictured, left) raced to save the diver after he jumped from a 200ft ledge
‘He was laid on some seaweed on the bottom so I just grabbed his hand and tried to push off the floor.
‘I thought I was going to let go and that I wasn’t going to make it myself. I had exhaled all the air in my lungs and dragging a body through the water was hard.
‘I came to the surface and he was completely purple and had blood coming from his mouth as well as foam. There was no heartbeat and he wasn’t breathing at all.
Yasmin Allen (left) gave the diver CPR when he jumped from Durdle Door at the weekend
‘I managed to swim him back to shore and there were four incredible ladies who did CPR on him and managed to get him breathing again.’
The woman who filmed the video revealed that the man, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with a broken back after the stunt.
Crowds had gathered at the beauty spot to soak up the sun as the UK prepared to further ease its lockdown.
The man is pictured leaping off Durdle Door before he reportedly broke his back in the shallow water yesterday
Paddle boarders are pictured swimming to the man’s aid after he didn’t resurface yesterday
Despite safety concerns, the police were not able to close off Durdle Door to the public because it is owned by the Lulworth Estate.
Another diver at the same spot knocked himself unconscious yesterday and had to be given CPR at the scene.
Pictured: Another man jumps from Durdle Door yesterday ahead of lockdown restrictions easing
Another jumper is pictured leaping into the sea from Durdle Door despite Dorset Council warning people not to do so
People are pictured descending onto Durdle Door yesterday despite the council warning people to stay away
- Do you know the tombstoner? Email [email protected]