My Story: Trapped Underwater

By Simon Martin
From Reader's Digest Magazine


Finally it was my turn. Stretched out before me was the final drop: a three-metre waterfall that fed into a churning pool of white water that led to the roller coaster - the most dangerous rapid on this section of New Zealand's Wairoa River.

Most of the rapids in the lower part of the Wairoa, in the North Island, are classified as grade three and I had paddled them many times before. But I had never paddled the roller coaster, a grade-five drop. By the time I arrived at the waterfall, my four friends Matt, Jeremy, Mocco and Paul had already begun their descent. I watched as one by one they pushed through the next obstacle, a small recirculating wave or "stopper" that led them straight over the waterfall and down o the roller coaster.

I was feeling good as I climbed into my boat. My paddling today had been strong. I had picked good passages through the foaming white water of the previous rapids and had remained in control at all times. I set off hard, my mind focused. Paddling furiously I aimed at the middle of the stopper but, to my amazement, found myself stuck. The power of this stopper was enormous! I couldn't punch through it.

In desperation I side-surfed my kayak and tried to get to one end, but the force of the water kept pushing me back. Starting to panic, I looked around for help. There was none. Then the churning water flipped my kayak upside down and I had no choice but to leave the boat.

Caught in the cold, bubbling water, I desperately tried swimming to the bank but the current swept me up and flung me straight into the path of the waterfall. I quickly turned onto my back and started to pull my feet up so they wouldn't get caught on a rock under the surface. Too late. My leg snagged just as I was forced over the waterfall. I shot forward and felt a sudden jolt and then incredible pain. I was stuck - my leg wedged between two rocks. Worse still, I was hanging upside down at the top of the waterfall, trapped beneath the cascading water.

Fortunately my face had somehow ended up inside the air pocket behind the waterfall, so I could breathe. I screamed the loudest scream I've ever screamed. I screamed out my friends' names, imploring them to come and get me. I don't think I had ever known the meaning of true fear or felt that much pain until this moment.

My knee felt as if it would explode, with all my weight and the force of the river pushing down on it. I stopped screaming to check how I was stuck. I couldn't see my trapped leg but could feel its lower part being squeezed hard. My other leg was pushed up behind my back and sticking straight up into the current. I tried to pull it down flat but the force of the water was too great. I hung there thinking what would happen if one of the rafts travelling over the falls caught my good leg.

I screamed again as the pain seared through me. Screaming was good: it helped me to acknowledge the fear and pain, rather than biting my lip and trying to be tough. And if my friends could hear me, they could find me. Then a chilling thought crept into my mind: no-one had come for me; no rope had been dropped inside the waterfall. They didn't know where I was. I could not be seen or heard. If I was going to survive, I would have to rescue myself.

The blood supply to my trapped leg was being cut off and I knew if I didn't move fast, my leg would die. But what could I do? What if I accidentally snapped my leg at the knee? Would I pass out? What would happen then? And if I did manage to free it, I would fall straight down the waterfall. Would there be enough water to break my fall? And would I still be conscious? I looked at the foaming water below. It looked soft and inviting, but I knew better.

I had no choice. I took a deep breath and pushed with all my strength against the rocks, twisting my body one way and then the other. I screamed at the pain, but kept going. Incredibly I moved, but just a fraction. Screaming, I repeated the movement from side to side, until finally I felt my body slip and I fell head-first to the foaming water below.

I landed in the biggest, nastiest stopper I've ever been in. I spun round and round inside it. How long could I hold my breath? Everything was white and aerated. Oh my God. What have I done? Before I was going to lose a leg. Now I'm about to drown! Air exploded into my lungs as I popped above the surface. In desperation I looked around for something to hang onto. Nothing. Slowly the stopper was dragging me in again. There was only one way out.

I dived straight down to the bottom of the stopper as hard as I could, hoping to catch the downstream flow and swim out of it. I swam hard and kept on swimming. When I eventually surfaced, I was on the other side of the waterfall. I'd escaped the stopper. It wasn't until I turned round to get my bearings that I suddenly realised what I had done. Not more than ten metres ahead of me was the roller coaster. And now I was heading straight for it. I raised my hand in the air, wildly waving it about, hoping to be spotted by someone.

Then, unbelievably, I heard a shout. I looked behind me and saw a rescue line. I grabbed it and rolled onto my back, holding the line across my chest. Slowly I was pulled to safety and strong arms reached down and hauled me out. Later in hospital, X-rays revealed that my knee was broken in three places. I had snapped two ligaments and was suffering from compartment syndrome in my lower leg where it had been crushed. The doctors told me I was lucky not to have lost my leg. I knew I was lucky not to have lost my life.

Simon Martin, 44, lives in Auckland where he works as a lecturer in marketing. Since recovering from his accident, he has been back to paddle the Wairoa, but steered clear of the waterfall.

From Reader's Digest Magazine - August 2004