Panaji: Over 50 persons were rescued from drowning off Goa’s beaches over the extended Diwali weekend, even as Drishti Marine’s lifesavers successfully intervened in a suicide attempt at Patnem beach, managing to rescue a teenager from Uttar Pradesh (UP) who appeared to be bent on taking his own life.
Patnem: At Patnem beach, the 17-year-old UP resident kept wading into the deeper waters, despite cautions from his panicked family members and on-duty lifesavers. After multiple attempts by the family to call him back to shore failed, lifesavers Nagraj Girap and Sameer Kankonkar rushed in and brought him on shore with the help of a surfboard and a jet ski, averting a tragedy.
Majorda: A water sports operator in distress was rescued by lifesavers off Majorda beach, after his boat capsized due to a sudden change in the weather and wind conditions, throwing him overboard. Lifesaver Mayur Lahane rescued him with the help of a jetski.
Among the 51 persons rescued by Drishti Marine lifesavers over the extended weekend, which saw hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the state’s beaches, 15 persons were saved from drowning in single rescue operations, while eight double rescues, two triple rescues and three multiple (more than three lives saved) rescues were also reported during the busy period.
Baga: Five women were rescued off Baga beach in a multiple rescue, after they were unable to extricate themselves from a rip current. They were saved by lifesavers Saurabh Kumar, Fondu Gawas, Buddaji and Sainath Gawas using a rescue boat and rescue tube. At the same beach, five friends from Ahmedabad ventured as much as 30 metres into the water, before they found returning on the shore a difficult task. A patrolling lifesaver, Sushant, noticed the group in distress. He rushed in and brought a 21-year-old man, struggling to deal with the water, to the shore with a rescue tube, before he was joined by lifesavers Suraj, Siddesh and Fondu Gawas, who brought the rest ashore to safety. The 21-year-old, who was facing breathing difficulties, was administered oxygen after his airway was cleared. He was dispatched to the Candolim Health Centre by a Drishti Marine vehicle for treatment, before being taken to the Asilo hospital Mapusa, where is reported to be recovering.
Calangute: Calangute beach reported two triple rescues off the coast, one of which involved the rescue of three persons from Karnataka between the ages of 20 to 27 years by lifesaver Nakul Usapkar. In another incident reported on the same beach, lifesavers Vinod Salelkar, Sanjay Yadav and Umesh Madhaikar rescued three men from Sangli in Maharashtra, who had started drowning while on a swim together. The beach was witness to the rescue of four men from Nagpur and Delhi, aged between 25 to 30 years, after they were caught in a rip current, forcing lifesavers Nakul Usapkar, Sunil Matonkar and Umesh Madaikar to rescue them with the help of a surfboard, rescue tube and jet ski.
In addition to conducting 51 rescues over the Diwali weekend, four missing children were also traced on Baga and Calangute beaches by lifesavers and handed over to their parents after completing identification and handover formalities.
