Oceanside CA— A male in his early 20’s lost control of his personal watercraft in the harbor around 1:00pm on Saturday, October 7, 2017. He hit the north jetty and was thrown into the water. He struggled in the water due to the high surf and was eventually washed into the rocks of the jetty. A full ocean rescue response was generated and resources deployed to the harbor mouth where he was reported to be last seen.
The ocean rescue response included Oceanside Fire Department, Lifeguards, and Harbor Police. Fire department personnel were able to jump on to the lifeguard boat to assist with the rescue. Lifeguards in the boat and personal watercrafts searched the south side of the north jetty, while the harbor police searched the north side of the jetty for the individual in distress.
Lifeguards were finally able to locate the individual smashed in between the rocks on the jetty. Lifeguards entered the high surf from their boat to gain access to the patient on the jetty. The patient was in severe distress and suffering from multiple injuries.
The rescue was difficult due to the location of the patient in between the large rocks and the high surf. Lifeguards were able to remove the patient from the rocks and stabilize him to be transported.
He was then lowered from the top of the jetty to an awaiting personal watercraft. The personal watercraft transported him to the lifeguard boat where waiting firefighters loaded him on to the boat. He was immediately treated for his injuries and transported to the dock. A waiting ambulance took him to Camp Pendleton Base hospital helipad to be transported via air ambulance to Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center for further treatment.
The rescue was successful and there were no injuries sustained to personnel during the rescue.