'Below Deck': Ashton Pienaar Almost Dies After Falling Overboard

Tuesday’s episode of Below Deck was a scary one. Deckhand Ashton Pienaar nearly drowned when he fell overboard from the swim deck while he was trying to get the tender boat connected to the yacht as they sailed away from Tahiti. The Captain called him “the luckiest of all” after he survived his brush with death. Read on for more details about the accident.

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A post shared by Ashton Pienaar (@ashtonpienaar) on Oct 20, 2018 at 6:44pm PDT

Photo credit: Ashton Pienaar Instagram

Ashton was on the deck, helping with the lines. He was unaware that he was standing on the wrong side of the line. Within seconds, his foot got tangled and he was pulled into the water. His fellow deck mate Rhylee Gerber immediately alerted Captain Lee that there was a "man overboard.

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Tahiti Tuesday! Don’t miss #belowdeck tonight on @bravotv

A post shared by Ashton Pienaar (@ashtonpienaar) on Nov 20, 2018 at 5:37am PST

Photo credit: Ashton Pienaar Instagram

As that happened, Brent, the cameraman who was filming, dropped his camera and got the line loose so Ashton could swim to safety.

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You DO NOT want to miss tonight’s episode of #below @bravotv It’s intense, it’s naughty, it’s dramatic, It’s angry, its fun, it’s all the good things we know you like!

A post shared by Ashton Pienaar (@ashtonpienaar) on Nov 27, 2018 at 9:10am PST

Photo credit: Ashton Pienaar Instagram

Ashton was able to get onto the tender and was then pulled back onto the yacht. Once back on board he admitted, "I mentally prepared myself for my foot to be ripped off."

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A post shared by Ashton Pienaar (@ashtonpienaar) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:48pm PDT

Photo credit: Ashton Pienaar Instagram

“As I hit the water, I was fighting to get my head up, to get air. I realized the line is going to now take tension. Nobody would have got to me in time to stop the bleeding and I would have bled out in the water,” he explained. “Brent managed to get those lines up just in time. I owe my life to the guy.”

Photo credit: Getty

Captain Lee addressed the severity with the crew members on board. He told his employees, "we got extremely lucky," before he called the South African "the luckiest of them all."

Photo credit: Getty

In his interview to the viewers, Captain Lee said, "We were within 30 seconds of him dying." "It scares the F*** out of me. We averted catastrophe through luck and that's what I want the crew to realize," he continued.

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Wishing @captain_lee_rosbach a very happy birthday! May it be a great year for you sir and may I age as well as you have💪🏼 #studofthesea #cupidofthesea #captain #deckie 📸credit @kiamaria91

A post shared by Ashton Pienaar (@ashtonpienaar) on Nov 15, 2018 at 11:46am PST