Two friends have described their efforts to save the life of a father-of-three who was seriously injured diving from rocks on Saturday afternoon.Nick Strong, Alex Jones and another man towed the injured 41-year-old from the water to the beach. When they realised he was not breathing and had no pulse, Mr Strong and others including an off-duty Emergency Medical Technician performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR].The victim, from St David’s, remained in a critical condition in intensive care last night, suffering from head and neck injuries. Minister of National Security Wayne Perinchief said the people who worked to save the man’s life should be considered for an award, saying: “It’s an extraordinary feat of strength and heroism.”According to Mr Strong and Mr Jones, the victim did a somersault dive off a cliff at Admiralty House Park Beach in Pembroke at low tide, and failed to resurface.Mr Strong, 35, from Sandys, was at the beach with his wife Amanda and a group of friends. Some of the group had spent the afternoon rock-climbing nearby and were relaxing with a barbecue when the accident happened at 5.37pm.Mr Strong said: “I was on the beach looking out over the water when I saw him do this dive off this cliff. He was about 20-25 feet up on the cliff which is the highest of the two peaks when you’re looking across from the jetty.“He did a flip-and-a-half; a somersault into a dive.”According to Mr Strong, the man entered the water at a shallow angle, not a steep one, and there was a big splash.“I assumed he was OK and looked away and started talking to people. I looked back and I saw a dark object under the water and saw the top of the head.”When the man did not resurface, Mr Strong and Mr Jones began wading out into the water, then swimming towards him.“At the same time, a teenage boy jumped off the cliffs into the water and started trying to lift the man’s body.“We saw the boy’s head pop up and his eyes were big. I believe it was his son,” said Mr Strong. “At that point we started swimming as fast as we could towards him.”He and Mr Jones have both swum competitively, and describe themselves as strong swimmers. They and another man from the other side of the beach reached the victim, who was 50 to 60 metres away from the beach, around the same time.“We turned him over in the water, got his head above water, got him lying on his back on the surface, supporting his whole body. I thought he was dead. He was unresponsive and limp,” said Mr Strong.The victim had no visible signs of a head injury and the men could not tell how he had injured himself.“I tried to remember what I was taught in the lifeguard service in the mid 90s. I put his head on my shoulder. I was swimming backwards with the other two guys there,” said Mr Strong.The trio swam back to the shore with the victim while another friend, Nigel Pollard, called 911 and brought his small boat into the water to assist with the rescue.Mr Strong estimated it took around three minutes to tow the man ashore. When they reached shallower water their friends Ward Byrum and Todd Crews helped support the victim’s entire body as they got him out of the water.Mr Strong said the beach was “crazy with activity” at the time. A family party was being hosted and he estimated there were 50 to 100 people present, including the victim’s wife and three children.“They were very distressed,” said Mr Strong. His sister, Elena Strong, comforted them while the lifesaving effort was underway.Mr Strong began compressions on the man’s chest while another man, believed to be an off-duty Emergency Medical Technician, worked on the victim’s breathing. An off-duty nurse later assisted them, and paramedics arrived an estimated ten minutes later.“It was very very disturbing. I just wish I could have done more,” said Mr Strong.Mr Jones, 28, from Pembroke said: “It was a real team effort with everyone seeing what was going on and jumping in from our crew.”However, he expressed shock that other swimmers who were closer to the scene did not go to the man’s aid, and only one of several people on the cliffs jumped into the water to help him.“I guess the biggest thing that can be learned from this, and I want to get over to the public, is that people need to act if they see something. If someone is unconscious in the water, turn them over, get their head above water. If you see something, call 911. It was really upsetting to me that we were the first people there when there were dozens and dozens of people there, mostly children, but there were lots of people on the cliff waiting to jump,” said Mr Jones.He also expressed concern over the response of the police who arrived at the scene before the ambulance.“They should have been there with a first aid kit. The police didn’t immediately respond with a first aid kit. The rescuers, the good Samaritans, had to twice ask for one,” he said. “The kit they had included a CPR mask which made life easier.”He said of the incident overall: “It was upsetting. It’s something I really hope I never have to do again in my life, to pull someone out of the water with no pulse and not breathing. We really did our best to help him and save his life.”National Security Minister Mr Perinchief said: “It could very well have been a sudden death at the scene, had it not been for these people. I think it’s extraordinary that they would help the man the way they did in such a capable fashion. The people concerned with national awards for acts of heroism should look at the part of everyone who contributed.“It would have taken very strong swimmers to bring him in to shore. Most people would not be inclined to do that and wouldn’t be capable of doing life-saving techniques because they are extremely difficult. It’s extremely difficult to help somebody who’s unable to help themselves. It’s an extraordinary feat of strength and heroism.”Police had previously cited the victim’s age as 40, but corrected it to 41 yesterday. They have not made the man’s name public and his family was unavailable for comment yesterday.l Water safety advice and life-saving tips can be found on the Bermuda Water Safety Council’s website at www.wsc.bm.