Bali Medical Teams Save French Tourist In Nusa Penida

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Bali Search and Rescue have successfully saved a French tourist who got into trouble in the waters off Nusa Penida. Police Commissioner I Gede Redastra confirmed the details of the rescue mission to local reporters on Thursday 25th August. 

Police Commissioner I Gede Redastra said ‘Yesterday afternoon the victim and his partner were escorted by their driver [for a] tour of Klingking Beach, [they] then decided to go down to the beach via the cliff road’.

The tourist has been named as Rabat Jean Pascal Brayn, 30, who is believed to be in Bali on vacation. According to eyewitness reports, Brayn and his partner had been enjoying a swim in the sea for nearly an hour when disaster struck.

Eyewitnesses report seeing a huge wave suddenly rise before them, battering Brayn and dragging him out to sea where it is believed that he was thrown against rocks. Despite his injuries, Brayn was able to bring himself back to the shore where medical teams were called in to assist. He was confirmed to have a broken arm and was extremely weak and unable to walk.

Medical teams tried to treat him at the Nusa Medika Clinic but his injuries were beyond their scope of care. Local medical teams swiftly coordinated for him to be evacuated back to mainland Bali from Nusa Penida for specialist treatment. Medical teams were reported to be waiting for him at the dock in Bali to transfer him to hospital.

The Coordinator of Siaga Sar Nusa Penida Klungkung, Cakra Negara, told reporters ‘We came straight from the sea to help, but it was quite difficult because the waves were quite high at that time, but the victim could be saved and is currently being treated by the medical team’.

Due to high tides the evacuation mission wasn’t quite straightforward. The evacuation boat was unable to come into the dock close to where Brayn was being treated. Photos from the rescue team document how he was strapped to an inflatable stretcher and pulled from the shore to the rescue boat before being transferred to Bali.

Authorities in Nusa Penida and Bali’s other popular swimming and snorkeling spots are reminding guides to communicate to their guests about safety. Especially in Nusa Penida where the tides and waves change quickly and there are dangerous cliffs and rocks that cause dozens of tourists to get stranded or injured every year. 

Last week a Korean couple was caught in a tragic accident in the waters off Nusa Penida. A 32 year old man and his wife, 32, were on a snorkeling tour in Manta Bay when they were caught by a huge wave and dragged further out to sea. 

Search and Rescue teams were immediately called to attend to the incident and were able to rescue his wife who had managed to cling onto the jagged rocks at Broken Beach. She was evacuated to Sanglah Hospital in Bali for treatment of her injuries.

Rescue teams searched for the gentleman for over 24 hours as hope faded for him to be found alive. His body was recovered from waters around Manta Bay in the early hours of Tuesday 16th August. It is believed that he drowned although police were suggesting that an autopsy should be completed to confirm that there were no other injuries sustained. 

It is approaching the end of the peak tourism season in Bali and the surrounding islands. It is currently peak season for diving and snorkeling off Nusa Penida as the Mola-Mola fish have migrated to the warm, shallow waters. Marine lovers from all around the world head to Nusa Penida to see the rare fish for themselves, as well as take the opportunity to swim with the resident manta rays. 

Conditions at sea can change in an instant, travelers are reminded to take suitable precautions before entering the water and to adhere to guidelines about where and when it is safe to swim.