Gold Coast weather reporter Luke Bradman has recalled the moment he helped pull the body of a missing man out of rough waters, moments after completing a live cross.
Shortly after a live report on the local surf conditions, he was alerted to the presence of a man in the water, who seemed to be in need of help. He told 9 News Gold Coast:
“A boogie border at Narrowneck alerted me, he thought he’d seen someone struggling again out in the surf. I immediately stripped off and raced out with the boogie boarder to help the person in trouble.”
As the two drew closer, however, it became clear that there was a body floating in the water. “The two of us were able to secure the body and start making our way through a rip, back into shore,” said Bradman.
“In the heat of the moment, I thought this is someone’s son, it’s going to bring some closure – we’ve just got to do it,” he said, adding he “hopes to never experience that again.”
A body has been pulled from rough waters at Narrowneck on the Gold Coast. It unfolded just moments after Nine’s weatherman Luke Bradman was live on air. #9News pic.twitter.com/gS11xOs9fM
— 9News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) February 5, 2021
There have since been reports that the body was that of Jake Jacobs, a Broadbeach gym manager who had disappeared 24 hours before, sparking a massive rescue effort.
The British national, who moved to Australia in 2018, disappeared following a late-night swim with a friend, Melbourne woman Julia Boika.
Boika was found unconscious on popular Kurrawa Beach on Thursday night, but despite efforts by paramedics to revive her, she later passed away.
