PANAJI: Drishti Marine lifesavers rescued six people from drowning, traced five missing individuals, and treated multiple beachgoers for marine stings during a busy weekend of operations across Goa's coastline and tourist spots.
Highlighting the weekend's rescues, a dramatic incident occurred at Dudhsagar waterfalls when a seven-year-old boy from Bengaluru fell into a rocky pool without a life jacket. His 28-year-old mother jumped in to save him, also lacking safety gear, and both began to drown before on-duty lifesaver Devendra Naik plunged in with a rescue tube to bring them safely ashore. Meanwhile, at Palolem beach, lifesaver Satyan Khobrekar used a jet ski to rescue a 28-year-old kayaker from Pune who became stranded after his vessel capsized 400 meters offshore.
Lifesavers also coordinated closely with the Goa Police to locate five missing individuals. In a cross-state operation in Canacona, a missing 47-year-old man from Uttarakhand was found sleeping under a bridge by lifesaver Sarvesh Chopdekar and subsequently handed over to authorities and his family for medical care.
Lifesavers also reunited several beachgoers who had been separated from their families. An eight-year-old boy from Bengaluru who went missing at Baga beach was safely tracked down at neighboring Candolim, while a four-year-old boy from Bihar was found at Baga an hour after wandering away from Calangute. At Colva beach, a seven-year-old local girl and a 22-year-old distressed woman from Karnataka were both safely returned to their families following interventions by beach marshals and lifesavers, who also managed to return a lost mobile phone to its rightful owner.
In addition to rescues and missing persons, lifesavers attended to several marine-related medical emergencies. At Hollant beach, a 33-year-old Bengaluru man was pulled from the water and handed over to an ambulance service after sustaining a stingray strike to his foot, while two men from Kerala were treated on the beach for jellyfish stings. Furthermore, at Galgibag beach, a 22-year-old woman from Mumbai received prompt first aid after suffering a deep cut to her toe from stepping on seashell-covered rocks near the riverside.
