Members of the Security Forces and Corps are committed to public service and population protection at all times, even when they are not on duty. The most recent incident occurred last weekend at La Olla beach in Altea, when an off-duty Alicante National Police officer saved a drowning, drunk swimmer while attempting to collect his paddleboard. “You saved my life,” the swimmer informed him once he reached land.
The rescue took place just after seven in the evening on La Olla beach in Altea, when the lifeguard service was no longer operational. A national police officer was enjoying a holiday with his family when he and a relative noticed an empty paddleboard about 100 meters from the shore, and about 50 meters behind it was a person who seemed to be trying to swim toward it but wasn’t making any progress.
“It felt like he was drowning, as he was also waving a paddle,” explains the police officer who rescued him.
The officer saw that a kayak shop was already closing and decided to take a paddle from some bathers on the beach. He went to where the bather was in distress and proceeded to the rescue. He offered the paddle to the bather, who couldn’t hold on and sank due to being drunk.
Rescue
Finally, he was able to hold on, and the police officer pulled him onto the paddleboard he had borrowed for the rescue. He asked him to stay calm and not move. He then headed to the shore, even though the swimmer still wanted him to retrieve some beer bottles he had dropped.
Just as the rescue was in progress, a kayak carrying a diving instructor and another off-duty police officer from Benidorm also appeared. The instructor congratulated the officer for his intervention and reprimanded the swimmer for having gone out on the paddleboard while intoxicated.
The rescued swimmer arrived at the shore using the police officer’s board and did not require medical attention. Before departing, he praised the National Police officer for his assistance: “You saved my life.”
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