Competitive big-wave surfer, Andrew Cotton, was saved from drowning on Friday after falling from his board into the sea in Portugal.
ADVERTISEMENTCompetitive big-wave surfer, Andrew Cotton, was saved from drowning on Friday after falling from his board into the sea in Portugal.
Video footage showed how the athlete was surfing off the coastal town of Nazaré in Portugal when he fell and became trapped in the rocks at the foot of the town's iconic lighthouse.
Brazilian surfer, Marcelo Luna, who was nearby heard the commotion from onlookers and was able to jet ski out to release the fellow surfer.
Marcelo recalls that people were shouting from the top of the cliff. That's when he realised what was happening and that he need to react. Cotton was stuck dangerously between the rocks and the wave breaks.
The three-minute ordeal came to a positive end when despite the dangers of the giant waves, Luna was able to carry Cotton back to safety.
This is not the first time that Cotton has gotten into a spot of trouble whilst surfing in Nazaré. Four years ago he broke his back during a wipeout there.
Nazaré is one of the world's top spots for giant wave surfing and it's a regular spot for Cotton. The sea around the town is also notoriously dangerous. Luna even explains that "Nazaré has always been a nightmare for us surfers." Surfers train hard to avoid accidents but sometimes they still occur.
Luna is happy that he was around to help and what matters to him is not the surfing, but getting all the surfers home safe.