Lifeguards were first alerted to the girl’s condition at about 12:50pm when a boy came running up to lifeguards calling for help, Nai Harn chief lifeguard Chula Nontree told The Phuket News.
“When we arrived, the girl had already been brought out of the water. She was choking on water and looked tired, so we administered her immediate first aid and provided oxygen to help her breathe. Then we called an ambulance to take her to Chalong Hospital,” he said.
“For the Russian man [at Yanui Beach], lifeguards were called to help at about 4pm,” Mr Chula added.
“The man went out to swim with two friends, but they became separated and ended up a long way from each other,” he said.
“The man was about 200 metres from the beach. He was shouting out and signalling for help. When lifeguards reached him, he had already gone under the surface of the water,” Mr Chula explained.
“LIfeguards brought him back to shore and he was exhausted, so we provided him oxygen to assist his breathing and had him taken him to hospital,” he said.
“He was still conscious when he was on the beach, but later we were told by ambulance staff that he became unconscious on the way to the hospital. The ambulance workers helped him to regain consciousness and continued to provide emergency care until his condition stabilised,” Mr Chula said.
“We have called to follow up the condition of both the Russian man and the little girl, and hospital staff confirmed they were both safe,” he added.
Mr Chula urged all people to be careful when swimming at the beach, and especially urged parents to make sure their children are safe at all times while playing in the water.
“I want parents to keep a close watch on their children when letting them go swimming or doing other activities in the water because unexpected incidents can happen at any time,” Mr Chula said.
“Although the waves right now are not very high and not that dangerous, we want everyone to be careful and be alert of their surroundings at all times,” he added.
“If we set flag areas [marking where it is safe to swim], please swim only in the areas marked and follow lifeguards’ suggestions,” Mr Chula urged.