Survival story of man feared dead after heart attack at Melbourne surf park

Survival story of man feared dead after heart attack at Melbourne surf park
Brett Pritchard was plucked from the water by staff at the park after he collapsed while paddling out. He ended up in a coma.

A man who was feared dead after he was found unconscious at a popular adventure sports centre in Melbourne has revealed what actually happened to him that day.

Police and paramedics were called to URBNSURF in Tullamarine at 11.30am on Friday June 3 to reports of an unresponsive man, later revealed to be surfer Brett Pritchard.

The 47-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed while paddling out at the surf park, and was immediately plucked from the water after he fell off his board.

Staff performed CPR before paramedics arrived and took him to hospital in a critical condition.

Pritchard was put in a coma and was feared dead, however he was able to pull through and eventually underwent bypass surgery.

The keen surfer told 7NEWS he had a “plumbing issue” in his heart that went on to cause an electrical issue, causing it to stop beating.

“What they did is essentially save my life,” Pritchard said of the staff at URBNSURF who kept him alive.

URBNSURF operations manager Shaun Hutchinson described the incident as “surreal”.

“All your training does kick in,” he said.

Despite his near-death experience, Pritchard said he would not be deterred from hitting the waves again.

“It won’t be big waves when I first get out there, I think we’ll be looking at knee-high ones,” he said.

“I’ll continue to do it for the rest of my life.”