'Don't screw around with Mother Nature,' says swimmer caught in Flatrock current
'I'm actually drowning. I don't think I'm going to get out of here,' Josh Conway thought
Josh Conway went swimming in Big River at Flatrock many times before, but on Thursday evening he thought for sure he would drown there.
And without a group of swimmers there to grab him from a strong current, he may have.
"I really did not expect to come out of that alive at all," said Conway, 19. "I was like, 'This is it, I guess.'"
Conway and his friends were taking advantage of one of the few hot summer days at a popular swimming hole in Flatrock, 15 minutes outside of St. John's, Thursday at suppertime.
After several days of heavy rainfall, the river was rushing and grabbed Conway under after he jumped from a cliff above — as he'd done hundreds of times before.
"Whatever way the current was going, instead of helping me down to the exit spot of the rocks, it pushed me up against a wall of rocks," Conway told CBC News Friday.
"After two or three times [of] grabbing [at the rocks] I realized I wasn't getting out of there, so I started yelling for help and I went under."
Conway estimates he was under the water between 30 to 90 seconds and blacked out.
"Once I was underwater, I was like, 'I'm actually drowning, I don't think I'm going to get out of here."
After hearing Conway's screams, nearby swimmers grabbed him to safety.
Tragic history
"He was really blue. He was definitely close to drowning," said friend Evan Codner, who got to the falls as Conway jumped into the water.
Conway was treated on the seen by local firefighters.
The rushing river, known locally as the Whirly Hole, has been deadly in the past.
In 2002, Chris Codner, 17, was sucked under the water by the current and drowned.
A plaque in honour of Codner sits near the river as a reminder of how deadly the scenic swimming area can be.
"It's not something he ever think about happen to you," Conway said.
"If you feel uneasy about it .. don't screw around with Mother Nature."
Conway is hoping to reunite with the strangers who came to his rescue on Thursday evening.
