A freediving expert has urged people to always be supervised during underwater activities after two men were injured whilst reportedly holding their breath in a pool at Auckland's Newmarket over the weekend.
Paramedics were called to the Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre at 7.30pm on Saturday, where two men were transported to hospital in a critical condition.
Peter Rust, director of the Newmarket fitness centre, confirmed the swimmers were spotted "motionless underwater" in the deep section of the pool.
The swimmer who rescued two men from the bottom of the pool said it appeared they were trying to hold their breath underwater. (Source: 1News)
Champion swimmer Joel Crampton told 1News he was completing a solo training session when he first noticed both men lying on the bottom of the pool, looking upwards.
"I noticed some young men down there, and it looked like they were down there holding their breath. I'm not sure if that's exactly the case, but that's what it looked like," he said.
"There were two of them, so I thought they were safe, they appeared to know what they were doing."
Crampton said he swum "a few more lengths" which took him less than 2 minutes, in which the men remained in the same position.
"The lifeguard came over and was looking at them, so I went down to see if they were responsive and they weren't."
He described the men as "completely limp and not moving at all" when he pulled them to the surface one after the other.
Crampton said off-duty doctors who happened to be swimming at the time of the incident assisted lifeguards who performed CPR on the two men.
"If there's one thing I could change it would be don't assume that people are experts or know what they are doing. If something looks dangerous in a pool or in the water, act on it.
"You know, I wish I probably went down there a bit earlier, but I can't change it now. But yeah, just don't assume."
He said being in the water is a "big part of Kiwi culture" and cited freediving and spearfishing as part of that culture.
'Tragic accident' - family of one swimmer
The family of one of the people who remains in a critical condition released a statement which said their son was "not practising freediving and he was not deliberately holding his breath underwater".
"We can confirm that our son, a regular at the Olympic Swimming Pool, was swimming to touch the bottom of the pool which is 5 metres deep and did not surface.
"Our son was not practising freediving and he was not deliberately holding his breath underwater."
The family thanked first responders alongside the retired doctor and competitive swimmer who assisted their son.
"This is a tragic accident that occurred while swimming and we request that you respect our privacy at this time."
Freediving expert urges caution
Freediving and spearfishing expert Mike Smith said people holding their breath underwater without proper supervision is dangerous.
"In training, or any breath hold sport, you'd always have either one up [above water] and one down. You'd have someone watching them," he told 1News.
Smith said people can get caught up in peer pressure when it comes to breath-holding.
"It's no different with kids holding their breath in the bath. If your kids are saying, 'oh I can hold my breath for a long time', you should try to discourage that."
He said there are clubs and courses that can educate people and provide information about the sport of freediving.
"It's actually a relatively safe sport, following some basic rules — always have someone watching you. No peer pressure, no races, and everything will be good."
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