SAS Australia fans stunned after 'terrifying' moment: 'Made me cry'

SAS Australia viewers were left shocked during Tuesday night’s episode when four-time Olympic diver Melissa Wu collapsed during a terrifying challenge.

Without wearing a mask, the recruits had to enter a shipping container filled with noxious tear gas and attempt to free a bound hostage.

“Tear gas shuts down the body the moment you take that first breath in, your body closes up, you’re completely disabled, it’s horrible,” Chief Instructor Ant Middleton said, describing the reaction to the gas “as if you’re on fire from the inside out”.

When it was Melissa’s turn to take on the task, she was quickly overpowered by the intense gas and had to be removed by DS Dean Stott.

She then stumbled out of the shipping container before collapsing face-first on the hard ground.

“Oh s**t,” Ant said while picking her unresponsive body off the floor and calling for the medic.

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Melissa clearly didn’t remember the incident when she became conscious again and asked for clarity while wearing an oxygen mask.

“It doesn’t matter what happened, all I want you to do is relax right now,” Ant replied. “Don’t worry about anything else apart from yourself, concentrate on your breathing.”

‘Made me cry’

Speaking with 7Entertainment about the heart-stopping moment, Ant admitted that he “wasn’t expecting” her reaction.

“First of all, I wanted to see if there was any facial damage, any teeth inverted, a broken nose, blood,” he said. “I knew what it was, I knew it was a lack of oxygen.”

He also revealed that one out of 75 soldiers had the same reaction to the task when it was done in the military, and Melissa "actually did very well to make it out”.

Meanwhile, a number of viewers took to social media during the episode to share their thoughts on Melissa’s shock collapse.

“That was terrifying! She looked like death,” one person tweeted, followed by another who added, “Even Ant was a bit scared when Melissa passed out.”

Others called her a “legend” and an “absolute weapon”, and admitted that they loved seeing a different side to the typically harsh Directing Staff.

“How Ant was with Melissa: caring, gentle & kind - in contrast to his SAS self - made me cry, it was lovely to see that side of Ant,” a fan wrote.

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