Panaji, Oct 2023: Seventeen persons were rescued from drowning by Drishti Marine lifesavers over the weekend, including a father-son from Kazakhstan, who were saved due to quick thinking by another kayaker and an on-duty lifesaver at Arambol beach.

The Kazakhs were kayaking when they encountered a large wave, which put the lives of the 38-year-old father and his 12-year-old son in peril. A nearby kayaker rushed to their rescue, so did a lifesaver who eventually brought the duo back to the shore safely with the help of a jetski.

Two persons from Pune, Nitesh Gadekar (31) and Rajesh Talkar (32) who were drowning in the sweet water lake at Arambol were rescued by an on-duty lifesaver. In another incident reported at Arambol beach, a 21-year-old person from Delhi was rescued by Dattaram Bandekar, a beach safety patrol officer, with the help of a surfboard.

Calangute Beach also reported two double rescue operations. One operation involved two men from Karnataka, aged 20 and 27 years, who lost their balance and slipped into the deep end of the sea, forcing Drishti Marine lifesavers to quickly respond and bring them back to shore safely. Additionally, two 21-year-old residents of Jammu and Kashmir were secured and safely returned to the shore after they found themselves unable to swim back to the beach. The lifesavers involved in these twin rescue operations were Sonu Kumar, Rohit Hirnaik, Nilesh Dhuri, Prathamesh Damnekar, Santosh Takekar, Ashwin Ghag and Pandurang Halankar.

Drishti Marine lifesaver Hari Chopdekar was involved in two other rescues at Calangute beach on separate occasions over the weekend, one of which involved the rescue of a 27-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh and another involving a 26-year-old man from Rajasthan. Both men had waded into the deep sea and were unable to swim back to shore. Chopdekar used a rescue tube and surfboard to secure them.

At Morjim beach, two men from Rajasthan, aged 22 and 24 years, were caught in a rip current and were rescued by lifesavers Anand Parab, Raghavendra Kaskar and Amon Salgaonkar, while at Candolim Beach, a couple from Bangalore in their early thirties was rescued with the help of a rescue tube and surfboard. Additionally, while a 31-year-old man from Rajasthan was rescued at Baga Beach and at Anjuna, a Drishti Marine lifesaver on duty conducted a rescue operation for a 24-year-old man from Bangalore.

Two children, an eight-year-old from Rajasthan at Calangute beach and a four-year-old from Punjab at Baga Beach, who were reported missing were located by the Drishti Marine lifesavers on duty.

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