7 News weatherman rescues young swimmer during live cross

Weatherman Paul Burt was doing a live cross from a Gold Coast beach when he noticed a young boy struggling in the surf. Photo / 7 News

Dramatic footage has emerged of the moment a 7 news TV presenter abandoned a live beachside cross and sprinted to the rescue of a young swimmer.

Weather reporter Paul Burt was reporting from Surfers Paradise on Thursday evening when he noticed a young boy struggling in the choppy waters.

Quickly springing into action, Burt rushed onto the beach and jumped into the water, assisting a group of beachgoers to pull the child ashore.

Paul Burt is seen with his shirt off, helping pull the young boy out of the water. Photo / 7 news

The boy, a 10-year-old who was part of a family from Pakistan, had been sucked out to sea by a rip while swimming in an ocean gutter.

Burt returned to his cross moments later, still dripping wet, and confirmed the boy was okay.

Burt and other rescuers check on the boy's wellbeing. Photo / 7 news

"[He] got dragged out into this fierce gutter, and of course into this rip," he said.

"Being of a lightweight he managed to stay afloat and come in adjacent to the southern side of the gutter.

"About four or five of us jumped in and basically pulled him back to the beach.

"He's living, he's breathing, he's conscious, he's talking – the ambulance here are doing their best to obviously keep him alert.

"There's no doubt he would have taken a fair bit of water in."

Burt quickly returned to the cameras after the rescue. Photo / 7 news

Burt reminded viewers that ocean gutters – deeper sections of water between two sandbanks – could be extremely risky for swimmers, especially given recent surf conditions in the area.

"These gutters here are very, very dangerous," he said.

"We've had half a dozen rescues on the Gold Coast here this week."

The close shave comes just days after a man died after taking to the water for a swim in difficult conditions at Main Beach on the Gold Coast.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was swimming with another person in an unpatrolled area when both began to struggle in the water.

When lifeguards pulled the pair ashore the man went into cardiac arrest and was declared dead at Gold Coast University Hospital.

Paramedic Adam Flory said the men weren't swimming between the flags.

"If you swim at an unpatrolled section of the beach and you don't follow the directions of lifeguards, you're putting yourself at risk," he said.

"You're putting the safety of first responders at risk as well."