Panaji: Goa’s beaches witnessed 13 rescue operations conducted over the extended weekend, which included Guru Nanak Jayanti, which was celebrated across the country on Monday (November 27), a senior official said.
The spokesman of Drishti Lifesaving, an agency employed Goa government for beach safety, said that four men in their mid-20s, all of whom are residents of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh were rescued off Arambol beach by Drishti Marine lifesavers Amit Kolmbkar and Umesh Phadte with the help of a rescue board and jet ski.
“The same beach also witnessed two separate rescues involving two men, including a resident of Hyderabad (25) and a resident of Rajasthan (23). Both victims were caught in a rip current while swimming, when Drishti Marine lifesavers Pritesh Kubal, Chetan Bandekar and Navnath Ghatwal rushed to save them with a rescue board, rescue tube and a jet ski,” the spokesman said.
Both the incidents happened during the weekend, the spokesman said, without mentioning the date.
At Baga beach, five men aged between 22-26 years from Karnataka and Pune were saved in a rescue operation by lifesavers Fondu Gawas, Umesh Madaiker, Divakar Dessai, Sainath Gawas and Mantha Kinalkar.
“One of the five persons in the group had started to drown, which led his four friends to attempt to rescue him. But the would-be-rescuers themselves were caught in a rough current, forcing the Drishti Marine lifesavers to intervene and bring all five persons safely back to shore. First-aid was administered to the rescued men in order to stabilise them,” he said.
The spokesman said that two single rescues took place off Calangute and Mandrem beaches respectively. “At Mandrem beach, a 36-year-old Russian woman and a 21-year-old man from Bengaluru at Calangute beach, found themselves struggling in a rip current. Drishti Marine lifesavers Rohit Hirnayak and Darpan Revanka rescued the victims using rescue boards,” he said.
In yet another incident, two missing children, a four-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh and one child from Mumbai were located by Drishti Marine lifesavers at Calangute and Baga beaches. Drishti Marine lifesavers were also quick to reunite a missing child with his parents at Baga beach, he added.
