An Australian weatherman jumped into the surf off the Gold Coast on Friday to retrieve a body that had been missing since Thursday, 9News reports. Luke Bradnam, a reporter for Channel Nine in Australia, had just finished filming a live segment about the treacherous conditions in Narrowneck when he saw someone that he believed to be struggling to stay afloat.
“Just after I got off air chatting with you guys a boogie boarder just behind me here alerted me here at Narrowneck, alerted me he thought he’d seen someone struggling again out in the surf,” Bradnam said on Channel 9 afterwards. “I immediately stripped off and raced out with the boogie boarder to help the person in trouble. When we got close it became pretty evident that there was a body floating in the water.”
It was later discovered that the body was British national Jake Jacobs, 32, who had been reported missing after he and a woman went on a night swim in Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach where the water conditions were deemed “very unsafe.” The woman was found later that night, but couldn’t be resuscitated. Police suspected that, if found, Jacobs wouldn’t be alive.
Despite the unfortunate conclusion, Bradnam, who had been dealing with an injured shoulder when he dove into the choppy waters, believes the discovery of Jacobs’ body will bring some closure to his family and friends. According to the Brisbane Times, the Gold Coast beaches have seen three people drown this past week, and six near-drowning incidents within the last two weeks.
