Three Rescued in Separate Kayaking Incidents at Palolem and Agonda; Quadruple Rescue in Calangute

PANAJI:
The busy coast of Goa witnessed multiple rescues over the weekend, three of which involved kayaking in the open sea at Palolem and Agonda. Calangute beach which is packed with beachgoers despite the pandemic saw a quadruple rescue and a serious case of a jellyfish sting where the victim has to be rushed for medical aid.

In an incident over the weekend, a couple who were kayaking in the open sea at Palolem on Sunday morning were knocked over by the waves and lost the kayak to the sea. The lady panicked and gestured for help. Drishti Lifesaver Ramesh Velip rushed to the couple m and secured them onto the jetski and brought them ashore. Earlier today in a similar incident, a 40-year-old male was rescued when his kayak overturned at Palolem. Drishti Lifesaver, Laxmikant Sagekar secured the victim to a jetski and brought him to safety. Agonda too witnessed a kayak related incident when a 30-year-old tourist who was kayaking in the sea was knocked over by the waves and was rescued by lifesaver Bhikash Velip. All three victims of kayak related incidents are safe. The lifeguards advised them on the dangers of kayaking in the open sea without experienced personnel to guide them.

Meanwhile, the busy Calangute beach witnessed a quadruple rescue over the weekend. It was past sunset when a group of 12 tourists entered the waters for a swim at the Calangute beach. This was despite several warnings by Drishti Lifesavers patrolling the area. Among them were two tourists from Maharashtra and two from Hyderabad who got caught by a rip current and got dragged deeper into the sea. Noticing the tourists in distress, Drishti Lifesavers Leslie Rodrigues and Siddesh Bhosle alerted the other lifesavers Netaji Nair and Sangharsh Asolkar who rushed to help the victims and secured each of them to the rescue boards, bringing them to safety.

Calangute also witnessed cases of jellyfish sting related first aid. One case, in particular, was serious where a lady who was stung by a jellyfish experience breathing difficulty, pain in her chest and was losing consciousness. Oxygen was administered to stabilise the lady and an ambulance was called for. As the ambulance was unavailable the lifeguards rushed the lady to the primary health centre in Candolim. Calangute beach has witnessed over 50 cases of jellyfish sting related first aid incidents over the weekend.

Drishti lifesavers also had a launch a search operation for a young boy when was separated from his parents at the busy Calangute beach. The young lad and the parents were reunited after a successful effort by Drishti lifesavers.