Rescue workers laboured tirelessly to free a panicked little boy trapped in a tiny space between two buildings.
Matthew Frimpong said it felt like a lifetime from the moment he heard his son Bright’s pleas for help until rescue workers managed to free the child.
The drama played off in Hlobo Avenue near the taxi rank in Zwelihle on Wednesday 15 March. Some residents tried to assist Matthew and his brother Desmond Lamptey as they struggled to free the small boy from the even smaller space between two structures.
It began when Bright went outside to play while his father was having his laptop repaired.
“A short while later I heard him shouting ‘Dadda! Dadda, help me!’ We panicked and tried to pull him free.”
When all their efforts failed, they called the ambulance services. The paramedics, they say, contacted the Overstrand Fire and Rescue services.
Byron la Hoe, assistant director of communications for the Department of Health and Wellness, reported that Bright was conscious when the paramedics arrived, but “deteriorated as a result of not being able to breathe properly due to the confined space and pressure on his chest.”
Lamptey recalled: “We were panicked when he became quiet because we didn’t know what was happening to him.”
Bright’s condition, said La Hoe, improved once he was removed from the small space.
The rescue team, consisting of Western Cape Government Health and Wellness: Emergency Medical Services and Overstrand Fire and Disaster Management Services, used rotary saws and other rescue tools to saw a hole in the wall of one of the buildings through which they extracted him. A paramedic sat close to Bright to calm him throughout the noisy rescue process.
La Hoe said the rescue operation took approximately 72 minutes from the moment it was reported until the child was safely freed.
“The rescue workers did an excellent job!” a grateful Lamptey said.
Frimpong recalled how he panicked but was reassured on seeing how tirelessly everyone worked to free his son.
“I thought my son was going to die. He was crying and so scared he didn’t even want to play on my phone while they worked hard to save him.”
Captain Fadila September, spokesperson for Hermanus police, confirmed police were on the scene to assist with crowd control while traffic officials redirected traffic.
Bright was taken to hospital, but was found only to have sustained some abrasions. The emotional scars may well take longer to heal, though.
“My heart is still sore,” said his dad, “but I am grateful that my son is fine. To the rescue workers I want to say ‘May God bless you so you may continue to do this good work’.”
Deputy Mayor of Overstrand, Cllr Lindile Ntsabo, who is also Mayoral Committee Member for Protection Services, said: “Our appreciation goes to the men and women in uniform who put the child’s welfare above their own safety and who worked tirelessly to extricate him from the tight spot he found himself in.”
