An Australian TV weatherman is being hailed as a hero after he stripped down and dived into dangerous waters at a local beach to recover the body of a man — while cameras were still rolling after a live broadcast just moments earlier.
Luke Bradnam, an anchor for Australia’s Channel Nine, was at Narrowneck beach in Queensland last week reporting on the treacherous water conditions when he was alerted that a person may be struggling in the ocean.
That’s when Bradnam quickly sprang into action.
“Just after I got off air chatting with you guys, a boogie boarder just behind here at Narrowneck alerted me that he thought he saw someone again out in the surf,” a wet and shirtless Bradnam recounted to his fellow anchors on-air following the Friday ordeal.
“I immediately stripped off and raced out with the boogie boarder to help the person in trouble,” Bradnam said.
Unfortunately, the man Bradnam ran in the waters to rescue did not survive.
“When we got closer it became pretty evident that there was a body floating in the water and the two of us were able to secure the body and make our way…back into shore,” the weatherman told viewers.
The body of the man Bradnam helped recover is believed to be 32-year-old British national Jake Jacobs who moved to the Gold Coast from the UK and was reported missing on Thursday, according to News.com.au.
A search and rescue mission had been launched after the body of Jacobs’ swimming partner was found late Thursday, the UK’s Mirror reported. Police believe the pair had gone out for a nude swim on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Bradnam described the situation as “pretty harrowing.”
The reporter told 9News.com.au he hopes to “never experience that again”.
“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,” said Bradnam, who dove in the waters despite an injured shoulder.
Following the incident, many viewers took to social media to tout Bradnam for his actions.
“Thank you for risking your own lives to try & rescue another, & although the results weren’t what you’d hoped a families loved one is back with them,” Stuart Weaver tweeted.