Have-a-go hero left traumatised after risking his life to save boy

Saturday, 30 December 2017

Bernard Riedl, pictured here hours after the tragedy, almost died trying to save the life of a 5-year-old boy.

Rough seas, crashing waves and the battle to stay alive.

That's what 28-year-old Bernard Riedl remembers when he recalls the events of 11 November at the Torpedo Bay wharf in North Auckland.

North Head, in the Auckland suburb of Devonport, was where the tragic scene occurred.

He almost died trying to save the life of a 5-year-old boy. And the events of those few minutes in the ocean still haunt him to this day.

Riedl is traumatised, yet he is refusing professional help to deal with what he had to endure. He has since resigned from his office job in Auckland and has gone to pick fruit in Tauranga for the summer.

Riedl quit his job and was traumatised after the drowning in November.

* Child drowns after falling from an Auckland wharf**

It takes him a second to acknowledge that his life has changed drastically. However, he is adamant that if given the same set of circumstances, he'll do exactly the same again and risk it all for a stranger.

The boy didn't survive that day. He was weighed down by his wet clothing and lost his grip around Riedl's neck before disappearing beneath the water.

The tragedy occurred shortly after Riedl and his friends left the Naval Museum in Devonport.

He decided to go for a walk on the t-shaped wharf. That's when he heard a fisherman shout 'jump in, jump in' and Riedl saw the child splashing in the water.

The fisherman was shouting at the child's parents on the other side of the wharf, but Riedl realised it was a 'desperate situation' and that nobody else was going to jump in to try and save him.

'I thought I would have to do something. I stripped down to my underwear and socks and jumped in,' says Riedl.

The water was rough and Riedl had to swim to where the boy was struggling and swallowing water.

But soon after the boy had his arms around Riedl's neck, he realised he was also in danger as he couldn't breathe.

'I looked up at the wharf and realised 'Christ, two minutes ago I was living a normal life and now I can die',' says Riedl.

It's then that he decided to turn onto his back so that they could both float when Riedl believes the boy lost his grip and drowned.

'I closed my eyes and he disappeared, I never saw him again.'

Riedl eventually washed ashore on some rocks and came across the half-naked fisherman who was also looking for the boy.

He ended up walking back to the Naval Museum where he gave a statement to police, and then walked away. He never spoke to the boy's family and they never tried to thank him for his heroism.

'I'm alright. I know some people get PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) but it doesn't really affect me that much. I guess it's because I didn't know him.

'The police have offered me help with victim support but I missed all their calls. I really don't think I need it,' says Riedl.

Riedl, who studied economics at university, says he plans to return to Russia in the next few months where he's worked previously teaching English.

His life has been changed for ever and every now and then when he goes to sleep he still recalls the feeling of almost drowning.

Drowning Prevention Auckland's communication manager Barbara Venville-Gibbons says 93 people have drowned since 1980 while attempting to rescue others in New Zealand.

'In most cases the victim survives, the rescuer does not. Bystander rescues have been high on the list of discussions since the drowning of the five-year-old boy.

'We are lucky to live in a country where people are prepared to step up, Bernard in this case, and we have to give them credit for that but would prefer that they made it back safely,' says Venville-Gibbons.