A 12-year-old boy has paid a heart-breaking tribute to the father-of-three who drowned while saving him and his younger brother from a rip in heavy seas.
Yazan Hammad and his 10-year-old brother Ahmad were swept out to sea in a strong rip at Wollongong on Sunday before they were saved by Shaun Oliver, 32, who rushed into the water and helped pull them to safety.
‘He’s really brave. Sorry, we didn’t mean for him to jump in, unlucky he never made it out,’ Yazan told Nine News on Monday.
Yazan Hammad (pictured) and his 10-year-old brother Ahmad were swept out to sea in a strong rip at Wollongong on Sunday before they were saved by Shaun Oliver
Shaun Oliver, from Victoria, drowned while trying to save four children, including Yazan and Ahmad from a rip on Sunday.
Mr Oliver was in Wollongong on business when he raced into the treacherous surf after the children.
He managed to pull his two younger children to shore, with the help of a surfer, before he found himself in trouble and was swept out to sea.
One day after the dramatic rescue, Yazan, 12, said he was shocked how quickly he and the other children found themselves in danger.
‘We were just standing and playing in the water, we looked back and realised how far out we were,’ Yazan said.
‘We never even realised we were moving.’
Emergency service workers pulled Mr Oliver from the water and gave him CPR but he later died in hospital.
Shaun Oliver (pictured) from Victoria, was hailed as a hero after he entered the dangerous surf to save a 12-year-old boy at Wollongong City Beach on Sunday
Shaun Oliver died after entering the surf to save a 12-year-old boy who was in trouble
The four children were all rescued, but 32-year-old was taken to hospital, where he later died
An off-duty paramedic helped the 10-year-old to shore.
The two boys and the off-duty paramedic were also taken to hospital for assessment.
Inquiries into the incident are continuing and police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
Detective Inspector Brad Ainsworth of Wollongong Local Area Command told reporters on Monday: ‘It was an heroic act but it has unfortunately cost him his life’.
The devastated mother of the boys, Islam Hammad, thanked Mr Oliver for his altruism in an emotional interview on Monday.
‘He is a hero. I’m sure he is very happy in the place that he is now,’ Islam Hammad told Seven News.
‘I feel terrible for myself, that I couldn’t save him and I couldn’t save my sons, I couldn’t do anything but he didn’t think about anything and he went straight away inside the water.’
‘He saw the waves were very high but he went and saved them.’
‘He is a hero. I’m sure he is very happy in the place that he is now’, Islam Hammad said
Mr Oliver’s brother Nathanael wrote on a GoFundMe page that he had sacrificed himself to save the children, leaving behind his wife of almost 10 years and their three children.
‘Shaun has sacrificed his future happiness and shared life with wife Carla and three beautiful children to do what none of us hope to do in this lifetime… be tested,’ his brother said.
‘Sadly not long before their 10 year anniversary, Shaun was faced with an ultimatum.
‘He chose to protect those who could not protect themselves. And he, and his family, have paid a heavy price.’
The two boys and the off-duty paramedic were also taken to hospital for assessment
Surf life saving patrols do not recommence at Wollongong City Beach for two more weeks
Det Insp Ainsworth said people should not have been swimming at the closed beach on Sunday as conditions were bad.
‘The beach was closed. There was a heavy surf, a drag, an undercurrent, it was just all the conditions there that you don’t go in.’
Surf Life Saving has warned beachgoers of the dangers of the surf.
‘It might look picturesque and tame but there is quite a strong undercurrent and tow,’ a spokesman said.
‘Inexperienced people need to heed the warnings and don’t go into the water.’