BUFFELS BAY, South Africa (24 Dec 2005) -- A speargun demonstration went horribly wrong on Thursday, leaving a 33-year old man in a critical condition when a spear was shot into his chest. Cape Medical Response paramedics who rushed to Buffels Bay near Cape Point just before 2.30pm, found the man with the spear embedded below the right nipple of his chest. According to David Burr of emergency services, the shaft penetrated between 10 and 15cm into his body. He said the patient was "fully conscious" when paramedics arrived at the scene and "actually quite cheerful". The man, who is from Marina da Gama, was stabilised on the scene by paramedics. Paramedics were at first unable to load the patient into the Metro Rescue Red Cross AMS helicopter because the protruding spear got in the way. Burr said the patient was sedated, for "his own comfort", while paramedics were forced to cut off a piece of the spear sticking out of his chest. He was then flown from Cape Point to Groote Schuur Hospital. According to a hospital spokesperson, the man's parents have requested that their son's name should not be disclosed until he is in a stable condition. His parents are with him at Groote Schuur, where he underwent surgery on Thursday night to remove the spear. | | Although the cause of the accident has not been confirmed, Darren Zimmerman, station commander of NSRI Simon's Town, said it was thought that the man had been demonstrating the speargun when he was injured. "There was quite a lot of stress at the scene," he said, explaining why the cause of the accident remained unclear. SOURCE - IOL |
