A heroic medic who works for the emergency services in South Africa says adrenaline and rescue dedication could be what drove him to manage to save multiple lives during the devastating floods as the country continues to suffer extreme weather. He was in a suburb where the water drainage was simply unable to cope with the volumes of floodwater when he went to help a family and a dog that were trapped in a lower unit in the suburb of Orchards.
Paramedic hero broke open metal bars with his bare hands to rescue people
He described to Radio Jacaranda how the husband asked for help, and when he went to see for himself, he found them on top of a bunk bed.
The wife and children were terribly afraid as they could not get out. He broke the window, but there were also burglar bars. Asked how he managed to break the burglar bars, he said he did not know. He said he managed to find a piece of wood and with that and then using his bare hands, he managed to push and tug and bend the metal bars.
More rain forecast
He later went on and saved a dog and multiple other stranded people whose lives were threatened by the wild rising waters. He also said that all the emergency personnel were out there doing what had to be done and they are on standby. He wished them all well and hoped they would stay safe as the rain is forecast to last through the weekend.
Speaking to News24, when asked about his heroic feats, the paramedic, Avi Lang, said that this is what he does.
"This is my passion, this is what I do. I am passionate about rescue. The reason I do what I do is to help people. I am lucky that I have the ability to do it. I didn’t even think – I heard that somebody was in danger and I went into action."
Tragic stories of people drowning and being swept away
The floods have been severe. Localized flooding in the area roared into devastating flooding on the 9th November when there was a cloudburst event.
Overnight rain last night brought more waterlogging. So far two people were drowned in the suburb of Linksfield on the East Rand on Thursday and police divers are searching for a three-year-old child that was swept away from the high-density suburb of Alexandra.
There has been flooding and damage to major highways. A wall collapsed at the Johannesburg Zoo, traumatizing some animals, but zoo staff rushed to secure the animals and keep them safe. The weather also brought disruption to the international airport. The new breaking news is that a boy was saved from a vehicle but his mother was swept away by the flood waters.
