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Close Calls On Camera S10E01 (11th April 2022)
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CreativityTranscript
00:00A close call. A moment of danger when life can hang in the balance.
00:05It was absolute panic and fear.
00:08A split second where the outcome could go either way.
00:11They'd have been lucky if they'd have stayed conscious.
00:13The difference between disaster and survival.
00:16Actually, that's all it takes.
00:20These are the people that have been there and lived to tell the tale.
00:24I was terrified. I thought I was going to die.
00:27It's a day they'll never forget. The day they had a close call.
00:47Today on Close Calls.
00:49A young woman and a lifeguard cling desperately to a jagged rock
00:53as huge waves threaten to sweep them into a turbulent sea.
00:57A lifeboat can't get close enough to rescue them,
01:02but a Coast Guard helicopter might.
01:07If it can get there in time.
01:09I wanted to get in there fast.
01:12If they enter the water with very fast moving, big waves,
01:16I'd have been lucky if they'd have stayed conscious.
01:18And a nurse is driving home along a busy motorway
01:24when chunks of ice fly off the roof of a lorry.
01:27This is the result.
01:28That sound, it was deafening.
01:41Porth Coffin Bay, Cornwall.
01:44A young woman surfing with friends is caught in a riptide
01:48and swallowed up by raging waves.
01:50She disappeared so quickly.
01:53Like, at one moment, I had her in my eyesight
01:56and then the next year was just gone.
01:58At that point, I was pretty much on my knees
02:01because I thought I was actually watching her drown.
02:05A brave lifeguard swims to the woman's rescue
02:07and heaves her onto the relative safety of a rocky outcrop.
02:11Footage taken from the top of the cliffs
02:13captures their perilous position.
02:15The situation was getting more dangerous.
02:19We were getting hit by bigger waves as the tide was coming in.
02:30Professional photographer Ella lives in Surrey
02:32but spends much of her spare time with boyfriend Marcus
02:35in the Maidenhead area where they both grew up.
02:38The couple met at a local festival five years ago.
02:41Marcus is good fun.
02:43He's confident, outgoing.
02:47Yeah, just genuinely a really nice guy.
02:51Ella, she's quite bubbly.
02:53She's got a good sense of humour.
02:57The pair have lots of close friends
02:59and love to get together as a group in their time off.
03:02There's about 13 of us.
03:04We're all friends through couples.
03:07I met them through Marcus.
03:09We all just sort of get on.
03:10We've known each other for probably about 10 years plus now.
03:14We like to go on a few pub calls.
03:17We've been on a couple of holidays now together.
03:20Charles is one of the group.
03:22He met the couple several years ago
03:23when he worked at a bar with Ella.
03:25Marcus, he's the quietest person in the room
03:28but he's also the funniest.
03:29Ella is very different.
03:30She's the loudest person in the room.
03:32Have everyone laughing.
03:34You can hear her from a mile away.
03:36Yeah.
03:37So we're all pretty close.
03:38A very close group of friends.
03:39We're almost kind of like a little family really.
03:42But a spring holiday with the group
03:44almost ends in disaster
03:45when a day at the beach
03:47turns into a fight for survival.
03:49It's an overcast Friday at the end of May.
03:57Ella, Marcus and Charles are in Porthcoth and Cornwall
04:00along with five close friends.
04:02We've been cycling.
04:05We've all just attempted surfing
04:07which was really good fun.
04:08Really good luck.
04:09It's quite a simple holiday.
04:10You know, you don't need much to have fun there.
04:14It's their last full day near the coast
04:17so they decide to head down to the beach to go surfing.
04:20From the cliff you can see the waves
04:23and we all thought,
04:24oh, this would be absolutely perfect.
04:27The group hire some boards and head for the water
04:30but from the beach the surf is bigger than they thought.
04:34The waves were pretty big.
04:36I remember feeling a bit nervous.
04:39It did look quite daunting.
04:41I think all of us, we had butterflies
04:43but we thought the bigger the better.
04:46The beach is patrolled by R&LI lifeguards.
04:49On duty that day is Keith Renders.
04:52When Ella and her friends first got into the water
04:54I just approached them and gave them some safety advice.
04:58The lifeguards were pointing us in the direction
04:59to go in between the flags and we did.
05:01There were some big sets of waves coming through
05:03but other than that, everything was as normal.
05:08Grateful for the advice,
05:09the friends stay between the flags.
05:11We were all running in, encouraging each other.
05:15But the conditions are choppy and it's tough going.
05:18I was trying really hard to get through the whitewash.
05:22Really took it out of you, you know,
05:24almost, you know, took your breath away sort of really.
05:26A few moments later, lifeguard Keith enters the water to patrol.
05:31They were on the north side.
05:32I was right over on the far south side of the beach at the time.
05:34Ella, Marcus and Charles have made it out to the breaking waves
05:38but the tow has pulled them away from the safe area.
05:43We'd been swept by the tide quite close to some rocks.
05:46At the head of the group, Marcus is the furthest out.
05:50We just sort of panicked a little bit.
05:52We were sort of struggling to get back to where we first got into the water.
05:56And I thought, oh, we need to get out of here quick.
05:59But it's too late.
06:03Behind them, a massive body of water is bearing down.
06:06The first wave sends Marcus hurtling towards Wells Rock,
06:10a large outcrop at the north end of the beach.
06:13And it literally threw me into these rocks.
06:16I hear Charles and Ella screaming.
06:19I was proper scared.
06:21It was so frightening.
06:23Me and Charles both froze.
06:26Marcus, battered and bruised,
06:27somehow scrambles onto the safety of the rock.
06:30But now Ella and Charles are in danger.
06:34The freak waves have caused a flash rip,
06:36a powerful and unpredictable current under the surface.
06:40They're being dragged out of their depth towards the rocky coastline.
06:45I just wouldn't move anywhere.
06:46I would be swimming as hard as I could
06:49and I would be going nowhere.
06:51Initially think, you know, just swim to the shore.
06:54But the waves, they were kind of dragging you under
06:56and then from side to side.
06:58And I'm waving my hands around and shouting.
07:01Lifeguard Keith is 80 metres away
07:03but understands what's happening.
07:05He alerts colleagues on the shore
07:06and paddles hard towards Ella and Charles.
07:09I was really worried.
07:11They were in a really dangerous position
07:12and the current was pulling them into even more danger as well.
07:15But it might already be too late for Ella.
07:19It was so exhausting just trying to fight against it.
07:21I felt really alone.
07:23So I was just trying to keep my head up.
07:27Charles makes a desperate bid to save his friend
07:29but he's pulled away by the current.
07:32She disappeared so quickly.
07:34Like at one moment I had her in my eyesight
07:37and then the next she was just gone.
07:39Still stranded on Wells Rock,
07:41Ella's boyfriend Marcus is horrified.
07:43All I could do was scream.
07:46It was just so scary.
07:47I just thought,
07:47I don't know how I'm going to get to her.
07:49He can't.
07:50But Keith thinks he can.
07:53She was further out to sea
07:54and she was just clinging onto her surfboard.
07:58Ella's almost on the rocks when he reaches her side.
08:01She was holding onto her surfboard with her hands.
08:03She had like a ten foot rock right behind her.
08:05He tries to drag her onto his rescue board
08:08but the powerful current and huge waves make it impossible.
08:11We were just getting hit by loads of big waves.
08:15The current's pulling us all around the rocks.
08:17I knew we were both in trouble.
08:20Keith cuts his rescue board loose
08:22so he can fight to keep Ella's head above water
08:24but the waves are relentless.
08:28We were underwater for some quite long periods of time
08:31and it was quite hard to get Ella back to the surface.
08:34The water and the current was so strong
08:36it was just sucking me under
08:37and I thought that was it.
08:39I thought I was going to drown.
08:40On the rock, Marcus is helpless.
08:45At that point I was pretty much on my knees
08:48because I thought I was actually watching her drown.
08:52But Keith isn't giving up.
08:55He grips onto a small rock
08:57and with his free arm reaches down for Ella.
08:59All of a sudden I felt someone grab my arm.
09:03He literally flung Ella up onto the rock.
09:08Keith scrambles up and joins her
09:10but they're still far from safe.
09:12From the Clef and Onlooker films,
09:14the stranded pair is there battered by waves
09:17with the tide swirling around them.
09:19I was so physically exhausted and I could see how aggressive the sea was
09:26and my fear was how long we would have on that rock
09:29until we're completely covered underwater.
09:36Later, emergency teams arrive
09:39but conditions mean the lifeboat can't reach them
09:41and Ella begins to lose hope.
09:44I couldn't do it anymore.
09:46My body was just so cold.
09:48A Coast Guard helicopter is called in.
09:50The time is running out
09:51as their refuge continues to be covered
09:53by the rising tide,
09:55leaving them at the mercy of the waves.
09:58The M6 near Rugby, Warwickshire.
10:09Ice flies off the roof of a lorry on a busy motorway.
10:13Several huge pieces hit a vehicle
10:15travelling at 70 miles an hour in the fast lane.
10:19They strike the windscreen, blinding the driver.
10:22The ice fell from a height.
10:25I was absolutely shocked.
10:28Specialist nurse Laura lives in Rugby
10:39with her husband Neil and their two boys, Leon and Alfie.
10:43She knew very early on
10:45she wanted a career caring for others.
10:48At the age of 12, my mum had anaphylaxis.
10:52I remember helping her and nursing her
10:55and I remember realising at that point
10:58that I wanted to be a nurse.
11:00Laura's the kind of person
11:01that will go the extra mile for other people.
11:05Shortly after qualifying,
11:07Laura got together with Neil.
11:09We met up and sparks flew
11:11and we had babies quite quickly, quite young.
11:19However, we don't regret it at all.
11:22Laura was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was just 28.
11:33It's a life-changing condition
11:35which affects the central nervous system.
11:37For Laura, it's meant a loss of feeling in her legs,
11:40limiting her mobility and causing extreme fatigue.
11:44Obviously, it's very difficult to come to terms with.
11:48You know, I was very concerned for her future.
11:50I was with the family as well.
11:53We do have quite a few challenges,
11:55obviously, with the MS side of things
11:58and with my children who are both autistic.
12:01Neil is incredible.
12:04I've got a very supportive husband
12:06who picks up the pieces when I've gone to pieces.
12:12But she has got incredible strength.
12:14You know, it's amazing how she got through it.
12:17She does fantastic.
12:19After her diagnosis, Laura was determined to keep on nursing.
12:23On doctor's orders, she gave up ward nursing
12:26and has spent the last five years working as an MS specialist nurse.
12:32I think it potentially gives a little bit of comfort to some people.
12:36There is a nurse with a condition who's got their back, really.
12:43To get around, Laura has a specially adapted car
12:46fitted with a steering ball and hand controls for the accelerator and brake.
12:51It's enabled me to be independent.
12:54It's enabled me to stay at work,
12:56to have a family life and have a social life as well.
12:59But one afternoon, when Laura's driving home in a cherished car,
13:04a freak incident threatens her life.
13:07It's early February, just after 4pm,
13:14when Laura finishes her shift at the University Hospital in Coventry
13:19and sets off on the 14-mile commute back home to rugby.
13:23Laura has in-car cameras attached to the front and back windscreens,
13:28installed following an incident where another motorist reversed into her.
13:31If something adverse has happened, at least you've got a record of it.
13:36Laura's cameras are recording, but Laura's not anticipating anything untoward on her regular route home along the M6.
13:41There was hardly any snow left on the roads and the motorway was beautiful and clear.
13:45There were two roads that were on the road.
13:47There were two roads that were on the road.
13:48It was all melting away.
13:49Laura has in-car cameras attached to the front and back windscreens,
13:51installed following an incident where another motorist reversed into her.
13:53Laura's not anticipating anything untoward on her regular route home along the M6.
13:59There was hardly any snow left on the roads and the motorway was beautiful and clear.
14:05There were two lorries to my left.
14:08One was in the slow lane, one was in the middle lane.
14:11So I went into the fast lane to overtake.
14:14She's doing close to 70 miles an hour when this happens.
14:19A large slab of ice comes off the roof of one of the lorries.
14:26It hurtles towards Laura with such force,
14:29it instantly smashes the windscreen, sending the camera flying.
14:33The impact's picked up by the rear camera too.
14:37It captures shards of broken ice peppering the road.
14:41Stunned, Laura doesn't know what's hit her.
14:45That sound, it was deafening.
14:48When you're going 70 miles an hour, you know, my windscreen is ruined.
14:53My first instinct was I thought that something had fallen off a bridge,
14:58but I knew that I wasn't under a bridge.
15:01A frantic glance in the rear-view mirror reveals the ice bouncing off her car,
15:06but she still has no idea where it's come from.
15:09When I realised what it was, I didn't understand.
15:12The ice fell from a height.
15:15I was absolutely shocked.
15:17Not so much to the point where I lost control of the vehicle, luckily.
15:22She's still in the fast lane, and her visibility is limited.
15:27My windscreen was completely damaged.
15:30In nursing, we're trained to keep you cool and stay strong.
15:36Although I kept calm so I didn't swerve, I didn't emergency brake,
15:42my heart was pounding.
15:44I was deeply concerned for safety of everybody around me.
15:49Instinctively, Laura flicks on her hazard lights,
15:52desperate to reach the safety of the hard shoulder as soon as she can.
15:56I came off the accelerator, so I didn't brake.
16:00I then try and use my mirrors to then safely get to the hard shoulder.
16:05She has to move across two carriageways in front of the looming lorries.
16:10Internally, I was not calm. I was frantic.
16:14I have never in my life before this had to stop on a hard shoulder,
16:19and it is terrifying.
16:21She makes it just in time as the lorry thunders past.
16:26And I remember stopping the vehicle,
16:29and I remember feeling just so relieved
16:32that I had got to the hard shoulder safely.
16:36But she still feels vulnerable.
16:39Because you've got all those cars going past you at 70 miles an hour
16:42within metres of you.
16:44It was absolutely horrifying.
16:46The enormity of what happened hit me pretty quickly.
16:49Just before the camera stops recording, Laura rings Neil.
16:57That was my instinct.
16:59When I picked up the phone,
17:01it was quite clear that something had occurred,
17:04because I could just tell in her voice.
17:07She describes what's happened.
17:10Until she's off the motorway, she's not safe.
17:13And, basically, before we could discuss anything further,
17:16that's when she told me that her car was pulling up behind.
17:20It's a marked vehicle from Warwickshire Transport Police
17:23with two officers on board.
17:25They saw the ice.
17:26They saw my hazards.
17:27And they actually came to stop me, to assist me,
17:29which I was really, really grateful for.
17:33I think I was in a bit of a panic at that point.
17:36And I said, but how am I going to get home?
17:39The officers examined the damage to her car.
17:42They thought that I had enough vision
17:44to be able to get off the motorway safely.
17:47Shaken but reassured,
17:49Laura sets off with the two officers following closely behind
17:52in their patrol car to protect her.
17:54And they kindly actually escorted me home.
17:59When Laura pulled up on the drive,
18:01I was just absolutely relieved to see that she'd got home safe.
18:05She obviously gave me a hug,
18:06cos she was still shaking a little bit from the adrenaline.
18:09The couple take pictures showing the state of Laura's car.
18:14It damaged all of the electrics in the vehicle,
18:17on the windscreen, and my camera was knocked off.
18:20The rear mirror, that had moved as well.
18:25And when they download the car cam's footage,
18:28Laura finally gets a clear look at what hit her.
18:32I realised how big it was.
18:34I'm surprised that that ice didn't go through the windscreen, actually.
18:38That velocity of that size of ice,
18:41and that could have crushed me.
18:44The video also reveals the direction the ice came from.
18:48I remember feeling quite angry at the driver of the lorry.
18:53I only realised later that it's actually illegal
18:56to keep snow and ice on your vehicle.
18:58I was quite shocked,
19:00because I thought that lorry drivers would know this.
19:03It was impossible to prove which lorry was responsible,
19:07so police were unable to take any action.
19:12Most of the repair costs were covered by insurance.
19:15But Laura was without her specially adapted car for three long weeks.
19:20However, both Laura and Neil are grateful
19:22the incident didn't have more serious consequences.
19:25I think that I was exceptionally lucky.
19:30Had the impact been a bit more over to the right,
19:33and had she reacted any differently that day,
19:35it could have been very devastating indeed, I think.
19:41Well, that could have ended very badly.
19:52Note to all of us, clear our vehicle roofs in the winter.
19:55Makes sense, doesn't it?
19:57Now back to a terrifying ordeal for a young woman surfer
20:00and a very brave lifeguard doing his best to keep them both alive.
20:04In Porth Coffin Bay, Cornwall,
20:1324-year-old surfer Ella has been plucked from the sea
20:16by RNLI lifeguard Keith after getting caught in a riptide.
20:21The pair are now stranded on a rock
20:23at the mercy of crashing waves in a swirling tide.
20:26A bystander captures the horror on camera
20:29as they cling to the rock and each other.
20:32We were getting hit by bigger waves
20:33as the tide was coming in.
20:35Every wave would hit against me,
20:37and Keith would hold on to me.
20:39My fear was how long we would have on that rock
20:42until we're completely covered underwater.
20:45Ella's boyfriend Marcus and their friend Charles
20:48have fought their way out of the water
20:50and made it to the shore.
20:52Unsure of Ella's fate, they fear for her life.
20:55I think we were both in just so much shock.
20:58We were a bit, like, speechless.
21:00I could tell he was worried and scared
21:02because he couldn't see Ella either.
21:04I was still panicking,
21:06yet they're quite far out in the ocean
21:08and these waves are only getting worse.
21:11But Keith's RNLI colleagues have been alerted
21:13and are already searching for him.
21:16He's spotted and a lifeboat
21:18and the coastguard are called in.
21:20A cliff rescue team are first to arrive on the ridge above.
21:23They take these images.
21:25Ella and Keith are here, clinging to the rock.
21:28Ella's stricken surfboard is washed up behind them.
21:31In the distance, an RNLI lifeboat speeds to their position.
21:35And I knew, and I think Keith knew,
21:37that at that point we'd been spotted,
21:39so it was a real relief.
21:41But knowing where they are isn't enough.
21:44The rough sea and rocks mean the lifeboat can't reach them.
21:47It was really, really frightening.
21:49There were a lot of people there,
21:51but no-one could reach us.
21:53So it started to feel a little bit like
21:55I didn't think we were going to be able to get off of the rock.
21:58We were speaking to each other a lot.
22:00I was giving Ella a lot of reassurance.
22:02She was very distressed and scared at this point.
22:04And it almost gave me hope, I think, and some strength.
22:08On the beach, Marcus Charles and the rest of their group
22:12are losing hope.
22:14You're starting to think,
22:15if they've got all this team here, like, is it going to be enough?
22:18I've never seen him so worried in my life.
22:20He was, you know, he was pale, he was dead silent,
22:23and I just knew that all sorts of things were going on up there.
22:27Ella and Keith have now been clinging to the rock
22:30for more than an hour,
22:32and Ella's condition is rapidly deteriorating.
22:35I couldn't do it anymore.
22:37My body was just so cold.
22:39I've never felt cold the way that I felt on that rock.
22:42Their only chance is rescue from the air.
22:45A Coast Guard helicopter is immediately alerted
22:47and makes haste from Newquay.
22:49But it's a race against time.
22:51Niall Hanson is the winch paramedic on board.
22:54The initial call was to people stranded on rocks.
22:58We've only got a short transit, so we get the call quickly,
23:01we get on the way quickly, and then we arrive fairly quickly.
23:06One of Ella's friends films from the cliff as the helicopter approaches.
23:12On board, Niall scours the coastline.
23:16We spotted them, and the ocean was crashing onto them,
23:19and the swell was bigger than we were expecting
23:22and moving a lot faster than we were expecting.
23:24And if they enter the water, big waves that are going to just smash them against the rocks.
23:29They'd have been lucky if they'd have stayed conscious.
23:31At that point, I realised that I was going to do a max weight lift, which is three people.
23:36On the rock, Ella and Keith feel their spirits lift.
23:40Probably the best feeling ever. It was a real, real relief.
23:44There's no totally safe way of getting out of a situation like that,
23:46but based on my training and my experience with the beach,
23:49I knew that that was by far the safest option.
23:52The rescue attempt is captured from the cliffs.
23:55It's quite a sight, to be honest. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
24:01And the mission is fraught with danger for Niall.
24:04I wanted to get in there fast, not get hit,
24:08because as soon as I get hit by a wave, then I become a bit of a pendulum.
24:13The Coast Guard crew spot a gap between the swells and Niall is flown in.
24:17I knew I had a small amount of time before we were going to be hit,
24:20so they carried me right to the rock.
24:23First time I arrived, landed on, I had good traction,
24:27and I was able to pretty much dash around the rock
24:29to where the casualty and the lifeguard were.
24:32But he has to work quickly.
24:35The chopper's onboard camera shows the waves engulfing Ella and Keith
24:39as he fights to secure them.
24:41She looked absolutely fatigued to the point
24:44where she was hardly able to hold on.
24:46I remember hearing something very loud,
24:49and then somebody was shouting at me to put my hands up.
24:52It's like a rubber ring went over my head, and then you just hold on.
24:56After nearly 90 minutes hanging onto the rock,
25:01Ella and Keith are snatched from the waves.
25:03It was very weird.
25:07It felt like I was clinging on for dear life.
25:09I couldn't open my eyes. I just had my eyes shut.
25:12On the clifftop, Marcus and Charles are ecstatic.
25:15Oh, wow.
25:20In a couple of moments, she was up there and she was safe,
25:25and it was just a huge relief.
25:32The helicopter crew pull them safely onboard,
25:34and Niall assesses them.
25:36I collapsed when I got in.
25:40My legs just gave way when I got into the helicopter,
25:42and I was put straight onto oxygen.
25:44She was still very cold,
25:45and she was shaken up and traumatised by the event.
25:47I remember turning around to Keith, and he was calming.
25:50I gave him a hug, and I was just crying, really.
25:54She's also suffering from the early stages of hypothermia,
25:58and Niall is worried she's at risk of secondary drowning.
26:02I had, like, heated packs put into my wetsuit,
26:06and then I had blankets,
26:08and just nothing was warming me up.
26:11With these situations,
26:13we've lost people to secondary drowning,
26:15and I felt that she was well on her way
26:18to being in that physical condition,
26:21so best bet to take her to hospital.
26:25Ella's flown to nearby Trelisk Hospital.
26:27where she's treated for hypothermia
26:29and has a CT scan to check for water in her lungs.
26:32A few hours later, doctors give her the all-clear,
26:36and she's finally reunited with Marcus.
26:39I feel like I had butterflies.
26:42I thought at the beginning of that day I wouldn't see her,
26:45and then she came out,
26:48and it was just a huge moment,
26:50like, just hugged each other.
26:52It was just the best feeling,
26:53and it was very emotional,
26:55and I just felt so lucky to be alive, really.
27:04Ella and Marcus are back home and enjoying life together.
27:07They're incredibly grateful for the actions
27:09of the emergency services that day,
27:11and one person in particular.
27:14They are amazing people, but without Keith,
27:19I wouldn't have survived it, and I wouldn't have survived it,
27:23not just because he supported me within the water
27:26and kept me up out of the water.
27:28Mentally, I wouldn't have survived it,
27:30because he supported me just by keeping me calm,
27:33talking to me.
27:34He was a hero, and without him, I wouldn't be where I am.
27:38Can't thank him enough.
27:40He definitely saved our life, yeah, for sure.
27:42And Keith knows just how close a call they both had.
27:46I think it was a really positive outcome,
27:48and it was really lucky.
27:49There have been incidents around here in recent years
27:52where, sadly, people have lost their lives in the water,
27:54so it can be a very dangerous place to be,
27:57but it can also be a great place to have fun.
28:11It doesn't get much more heroic than that.
28:13Well done, Keith.
28:15See you next time for more Close Calls.
28:27We'll see you next time.
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