A West Australian priest has rescued a father and son who were struggling to swim at a tourist hotspot in the state’s far north. Source: ABC News.
Last weekend, Fr Liam Ryan was out in the water at Cable Beach when he spotted two people struggling to stay afloat.
“I saw a couple of fellows who looked like they were getting pretty close to where a little flash rip was,” he said.
“Very quickly, they moved from being in a place where they were comfortable … to being swept off their feet.”
Fr Ryan paddled over when he yelled out and heard no response.
He said within seconds, one of the “young fellas clambered onto his board” relieved at the sight of help.
“Being in a tourist town, we do get a few people who are not familiar with being around open water,” he said.
“[It] can look really calm, but if there’s a big tide … one minute you’re in the flags, next minute you’re on your own.”
The parish priest of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Broome, Fr Ryan is equally known in the community for surfing and swimming in the open waters.
The rescue was not his first foray into saving desperate swimmers.
He received an Australian Bravery Award in 2022 for saving someone who was bitten by a great white shark in Bunker Bay in the state’s south-west two years prior.
Ultimately, Fr Ryan said there was “something deep within you” that wanted to help others in need, and he credited years of swimming, which gave him the ability to assist in water emergencies.
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Heroic surfing priest rescues father and son from rip at Cable Beach (By Ruby Littler, ABC News)
