DANIEL SMITH

A fisherman from New Zealand has gained popularity and has even been treated as a national hero in his country after he swam for 12 hours in waters full of dangerous fish including sharks to help his colleagues and save their lives. Daniel Smith, 42, caused rescue workers and emergency services to experience a miracle after his swimming marathon of about 10 kilometres off the coast of Napier. His fishing vessel hit a coral reef and sank very quickly. It happened all so fast that Smith and his other two fisherman friends on the boat couldn’t radio for help before they jumped into the sea. The three men lost each other in the dark and Smith decided to swim to the shore. His strength and determination amazed rescue workers and emergency services. His effort wasn’t for nothing because he was able to save one of his two friends. A rescue helicopter pulled Greg Heubach, 29, from the ocean soon after Smith raised the alarm.

Emergency services had to stop the search for the third man, Mike Jenkins. Police said they had evidence suggesting he had drowned. A search and rescue specialist, Mark Babcock, said "The survival time for most people in those conditions would be at most a three hours.” Smith is in hospital, suffering from cuts, bruises, exhaustion and sunburn. Heubach is also fine after being severely dehydrated. Smith never doubted his survival, telling the media: "I've got determination like no other person. I wasn't going to die out there, no way." He added that he would never go to sea again.