With under 24 hours until the Pipe Masters gets underway, the surfing world is breathing a collective sigh of relief after pro surfer Evan Geiselman was pulled unconscious from the surf at Pipeline, by 2 times Bodyboard World Champion Andre Botha. Video of Andre rescuing the lifeless Evan has emerged, as social media has been swamped with some of the biggest names in surfing giving thanks for Andre’s quick thinking and selfless actions.
The surf at Pipe was pretty much perfect and Evan took off on a wave that was triple overhead in size. He tucked into the barrel but was caught by the ensuing foam ball, which pitched him head first, with the lip into the shallows. Luckily Botha realised that Evan was in trouble and hadn’t resurfaced and managed to get to the unconscious surfer and keep him afloat. With the assistance of lifeguards Evan was taken to shore and then onto hospital where it is reported he is recovering from his ordeal.
The video makes for quite uncomfortable viewing when you realise the severity of the incident and how close Evan was to losing his life and shows just how quickly things can go wrong. Luckily Andre Botha was in the right place and had the strength and courage to save Evan in the fast moving water. You can see Evan’s wave and the heroic actions of Andre below, feel free to leave your respect for Andre below.
