A lifeguard in Australia has received the gratitude of the Danish royal family after he rescued Denmark’s 10-year-old Prince Christian, who had been dragged into the surf by a dangerous underwater current at a popular holiday beach. 
 
 Unaware that he was saving the heir to the Danish throne, Nick Malcolm rushed into the water on Thursday after spotting the boy was in trouble while swimming just offshore at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast in Queensland. 
 
 Mr Malcolm paddled back with the prince and returned him to the care of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Australian-born Princess Mary. 
 
 Prince Frederik thanked the lifeguard, who later said “oh, ok” and returned to his patrol. 
 
 Despite being hailed as a hero and pursued by the international media, Mr Malcolm has refused to comment on the incident. 
 
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 Warren Young, the Gold Coast chief lifeguard, said Prince Christian was a “good little swimmer” and did not panic as a strong rip dragged him into deep waters. The boy had been swimming between the flags which ensured he was in a patrolled area. 
 
 "The rip was pretty strong so he [Mr Malcolm] only had to paddle 10 metres [33 feet],” Mr Young said. 
 
 “He said 'do you want a lift in?' and the boy jumped on and away they went… He was fine and his parents thanked the lifeguards as they left the beach. It was all really low key. He didn’t know who it was until someone said ‘Oh that was the royal family from Denmark’ and Nick said ‘Oh ok’.” 
 
 Photo: Alamy Australia’s beaches can have notoriously dangerous currents, or rips, which kill far more people than sharks and have been labelled the nation’s “silent beach killer”. About 20 people die each year due to rips across Australia; in Queensland, 78 people have drowned at beaches in the past decade. 
 
 Experts said the rip that dragged Prince Christian away from the shore was a “flash rip”, which can occur during wave surges, and that the incident highlighted the need to swim in patrolled areas. 
 
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 Photo: Rex Features "Prince Christian - he may have been caught in a little pulse, in something called a flash rip," Dr Robert McCarroll, from Sydney University, told ABC News. 
 
 “It just highlights how important it is for younger swimmers and less confident swimmers swimming in a patrolled area… Even if you do get into trouble like the Prince, you'll get rescued very quickly." 
 
 The royal family, including Prince Christian and his three younger siblings, have been holidaying in Queensland and will travel to the island state of Tasmania to visit Princess Mary’s family. 
 
 The 43-year-old Princess, formerly Mary Donaldson, famously became a member of Denmark’s royal family after meeting her husband at a bar during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. 
 
 Mr Malcolm was back patrolling the beach on Monday. 
 
 "Council hasn't gagged Nick at all if he wants to talk,” Mr Young said. 
 
 “I guess he's overwhelmed by I guess the attention and you know, I guess that's just the way he is. All the guys are feeling for him because his phone is going off the hook all the time, so I think it is just a bit daunting for him. He's back at work and he's doing what he's good at." ||||| A Gold Coast lifeguard has saved the life of the 10-year-old heir to the Danish throne. 
 
 Prince Christian of Denmark, the eldest son of Princess Mary and Prince Frederick, was plucked from the surf by lifeguard Nick Malcolm while swimming with his family, 7 News Queensland has reported. 
 
 The 10-year-old was rescued from the waters of Mermaid Beach on Thursday, after being swept off his feet and out to sea by a strong current. 
 
 His Australian-born mother had clearly heeded the message of her childhood, luckily for her first-born. 
 
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 Link Camera-shy Gold Coast lifeguard Nick Malcolm has declined to comment on his high-profile rescue. Photo: 7 News Queensland 
 
 She, her husband and her four children were all swimming between the flags at the time. 
 
 7 News reported on Sunday that Mr Malcolm paddled his board out to pull the 10-year-old to safety, after spotting him in trouble. 
 
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 The lifeguard's supervisor, Stuart Keay, said he saved the youngster's life. 
 
 "We got him before it got too serious, but he wouldn't have come back in," he said. 
 
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 Link Prince Christian sitting alongside his younger sister, Princess Isabella. 
 
 Mr Keay said Mr Malcolm had no idea who he had saved until a fellow beachgoer came to tell him. 
 
 The boy's father, Prince Frederick, personally thanked him for the rescue. 
 
 Mr Malcolm is originally from Mairangi Bay in New Zealand but is based on the Gold Coast while he trains full-time in surf lifesaving sports and works as a lifeguard. 
 
 In January 2014, Mr Malcolm helped to save the life of another tourist at the same beach. By the time Mr Malcolm got to the 68-year-old man, he had gone under water, but he managed to flip him over and get him back to shore. 
 
 The man went into cardiac arrest and Mr Malcolm, along with Mr Keay, spent 30 minutes working on the patient until paramedics arrived. 
 
 The tourist was taken to hospital but recovered and later met his rescuers to thank them. 
 
 Danny Morrison, Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club's head of surf sports, said Mr Malcolm was quiet and "pretty laid back", and had carried out a standard rescue when pulling the prince to safety. 
 
 "What you'll find is what he did happens on a daily basis...," Mr Morrison said. 
 
 "People are pulled out of rips all the time and nobody says a word. 
 
 "They just get back on the beach and do it again." 
 
 The Danish Royal Family has been holidaying on the Gold Coast for the past few days, with Princess Mary and Prince Frederick spotted with their brood at theme park Dreamworld. 
 
 Tasmanian-born Princess Mary was also spotted shopping with her two girls, princesses Josephine and Isabella, at the Marina Mirage shopping precinct on Saturday. 
 
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 With stuff.co.nz ||||| Four people have died because of rip currents off the North Carolina coast since June 10. 
 
 Justin Eakes, 21, of Greenville, died Sunday night after being caught in a rip current near Atlantic Beach that morning. 
 
 Eakes’ death came just a day after a 56-year-old man died near the Henderson Avenue beach access in Atlantic Beach. The man, who has not been identified, went into cardiac arrest and drowned while trying to save two teen girls from a rip current. 
 
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 The weekend before, 17-year-old Elijah Hinnant of Wayne County died after being caught in a rip current near Emerald Isle. Tyreese Worsley, 16, was caught in the same rip current on June 10. 
 
 Worsley was pulled from the water by a surfer and rescue workers and taken to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where he spent more than a week in critical condition. Police said Worsley died early Monday. 
 
 North Carolina has had 54 recorded rip current deaths since 1996, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
 
 The National Weather Service in Morehead City said it’s hard to compare the rip currents off North Carolina’s coasts year over year. But currents all along the coast have been stronger in the past week. 
 
 Meteorologist David Glenn said North Carolina has seen “a really high period of swell” that leads to “a much more dangerous surf zone environment and more frequent, stronger rip currents.” 
 
 “We don’t get many events like this,” Glenn said. “Those are pretty large swells out there, and that’s pretty infrequent on the eastern coast of North Carolina.” 
 
 Most rip current deaths on North Carolina coasts happen on beaches without lifeguards, Glenn said. The weather service advises that people try to swim at beaches with lifeguards. 
 
 “And swim near them, not a long distance away,” Glenn said. “That’s the No. 1 key.” 
 
 People should also know how to recognize rip currents and how to react if caught in one, Glenn said. 
 
 The U.S. Lifesaving Association estimates that nearly 100 people die in rip currents each year in the United States. Rip currents accounted for more than 80 percent of the 84,900 rescues that lifeguards made in 2016. 
 
 National Weather Service offices along the Atlantic Coast put out rip current forecasts, including North Carolina offices in Wilmington and Morehead City. 
 
 The Atlantic Beach Fire Department and other lifeguard programs along the North Carolina coast use a flag system to alert beachgoers of swim conditions. 
 
 Green flags mean calm surf conditions and safe swimming. Yellow flags mean there are possible rip currents present and a stronger surf. Red flags mean unsafe swimming conditions. Black flags mean swimming is prohibited. 
 
 “Please remember the ocean is a changing environment that can pose a danger to you and your family,” the Atlantic Beach Fire Department said on its website. “Please be aware of hazards, follow the lifeguards recommendations and use good judgment when enjoying our finest natural resource.” 
 
 Red flags were up over the weekend. 
 
 Rip currents often are caused when water gets trapped behind a sandbar and rushes back into the ocean through a narrow channel. They are present almost every day, though not always at high speeds. They are typically narrow – only about 10 to 20 feet wide – and can move up to 8 feet per second. 
 
 Rip currents can appear to be calm areas of the ocean without waves, Glenn said,. A break in the pattern of incoming waves can signal a rip current. 
 
 The NOAA has several tips for staying safe in the ocean: 
 
 ▪ Whenever possible, swim at a lifeguard-protected beach. 
 
 ▪ Never swim alone. 
 
 ▪ Learn how to swim in the surf. 
 
 ▪ Be cautious at all times, especially when swimming at unguarded beaches. 
 
 ▪ Obey all instructions and orders from lifeguards. 
 
 ▪ Stay at least 100 feet from piers and jetties. 
 
 ▪ Wear polarized sunglasses to help you spot signs of riptides – such as a break in the pattern of waves approaching the shore. 
 
 ▪ Pay especially close attention to children and elderly people. 
 
 If caught in a rip current: 
 
 ▪ Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly. 
 
 ▪ Never fight against the current. 
 
 ▪ Think of it as a treadmill that cannot be turned off, which you need to step to the side of. 
 
 ▪ Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle – away from the current – toward shore. 
 
 ▪ If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim toward shore. 
 
 ▪ If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arms and yelling for help. 
 
 If you see someone in trouble: 
 
 ▪ Get help from a lifeguard. 
 
 ▪ If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 911. 
 
 ▪ Throw the rip current victim something that floats – a life jacket, a cooler, an inflatable ball. 
 
 ▪ Yell instructions on how to escape. 
 
 ▪ Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current. 
 
 Find out more about rip currents at www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov. 
 
 SHARE COPY LINK Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that are prevalent along the East, Gulf, and West coasts of the U.S. Moving at speeds of up to eight feet per second, rip currents can move faster than an Olympic swimmer. Lifeguards 
 
 Staff writer Josh Shaffer contributed.
– A lifeguard on Australia's Gold Coast saved a 10-year-old boy from rough waters Thursday, except it wasn't just any 10-year-old boy: It was Denmark's Prince Christian, on vacation with his family, 7 News Australia reports. The young heir to the throne was caught in a riptide at Queensland's Mermaid Beach, and when Nick Malcolm saw the boy struggling, he dove into the ocean, per the Telegraph. Chief lifeguard Warren Young says that Christian, the son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, was a "good little swimmer" who was hanging out in the lifeguard-monitored area between beach flags and who didn't freak out as he started getting dragged into deeper waters. Malcolm paddled out on his board, pulled the boy up, and brought him back to shore. "We got [the prince] before it got too serious, but he wouldn't have come back in" without Malcolm, another of the lifeguard's supervisors tells 7 News. Prince Frederik, who had been swimming nearby with Princess Mary and Christian's three siblings, personally thanked Malcolm, a native New Zealander, the Times notes. But Malcolm didn't realize at first who was doing the thanking. "He didn't know who it was until someone said, 'Oh, that was the royal family from Denmark,' and Nick said, 'Oh, OK,'" Young tells the Telegraph. This wasn't Malcolm's first beach save, either: In January 2014, he pulled a 68-year-old tourist from the water and helped with lifesaving efforts until medics arrived, the Brisbane Times reports. (A Florida lifeguard was fired for saving a drowning man.)