Kamloops resident Rob Griffiths is pictured on a beach with his dog on July 9.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Rob Griffiths
July 11, 2024 - 7:00 PM
Rob Griffiths is still emotionally shaken up and not able to sleep properly after saving a drowning man from the Thompson River near the Kamloops airport earlier this week.
Griffiths was riding his bike along the river on Aviation Way the evening of July 8 when he saw two men in their early 20s jump into the river off a float plane dock.
“I thought right away it looked like a dangerous thing to do, the river has a strong current, and before long one of the guys was bobbing up and down, struggling to keep above water and the other guy was struggling to swim while he attempted to help.”
Griffiths is a strong swimmer as he spent the past 30 years swimming and surfing, activities he took on after he nearly drowned in Costa Rica. He said he's passionate about yoga and is in top physical shape.
He said looking at the scene three options came to mind: walk away, keep watching or do something about it. He ran down the rocks yelling for someone to phone 911 and dove into the river.
“I was apprehensive because the guy drowning was so much bigger than me and I thought he’d drown me,” Griffiths said. “He was too big to grab around the chest like you learn to do in swimming lessons, I sort of grabbed him by the underarm and held him up.”
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The second guy was struggling to keep afloat.
“The current was strong, it was pulling us away from shore and was hard to move in, it took everything to fight it. It all happened in less than five minutes.”
All three men made it safely to the shore where they sat on the rocks for half an hour.
“There was a language barrier but the guys were very thankful,” he said. “I didn’t get their names.”
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Griffiths is hoping his account will bring more awareness of the dangers of the current particularly for tourists and international students.
He's hoping more signs will be installed.
“People drown in this river every year, a couple of signs could save a couple of lives,” he said.
In August 2022, a Vernon doctor drowned in the Thompson River after going for a swim with his son in the river at McArthur Island Park.
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