Team Herald
CALANGUTE: Around 51 tourists were saved from drowning by lifeguards on Baga and Calangute beaches over the extended Diwali weekend.
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The lifesavers also traced four missing children on Baga and Calangute beaches and handed over these kids to their parents following identification and other formalities.
A 21-year-old tourist from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, who was saved at Baga beach on Sunday, has been hospitalised at the Asilo Hospital, Mapusa.
At the same beach, five friends from Ahmedabad, who had ventured 30 metres into the water, found it difficult to make it to the shore. Noticing the group in distress, a lifesaver rushed in and brought a 21-year-old man, struggling in the water, to the shore. The tourist, facing breathing difficulties, was administered oxygen after his airway was cleared. He was later move to the Candolim Primary Health Centre in a vehicle for treatment, before being taken to Asilo hospital, Mapusa, where is reported to be recovering.
At the same beach, five women were rescued after they were unable to extricate themselves from a rip current. They were saved by lifesavers using a rescue boat and rescue tube.
At Calangute beach, two triple rescues were reported, one of which involved the rescue of three persons from Karnataka aged 20-27. In another incident, three men from Sangli in Maharashtra, who had started drowning, while on a swim together were rescued. Four men from Nagpur and Delhi, aged 25-30, who were caught in a rip current, were rescued with the help of a surfboard, rescue tube and jet ski.
Tourist security force rescue three-year-old child from Gujarat
Meanwhile, the tourist security force (TSF) rescued a three-year-old child from Gujarat who went missing on Calangute beach. The child was traced and reunited with her parents on Monday.
The TSF also rescued three other tourist children who were reported missing by their parents and family members at Calangute-Baga. They were traced and reunited their families after proper verification in recent days, the tourist police said.
On Sunday, the TSF arrested a proclaimed offender, Aariful Saidul Mondal, who was found moving suspiciousy manner on Calangute beach. He was taken into custody as a preventive measure under Section 84 BNSS. Mondal is allegedly involved multiple theft cases in Calangute police station jurisdiction, and has been handed over to the Calangute police, TSF PI Jatin Potdar said.
A number of unauthorised fruit carts and vendors from the tourism department Baga parking area were also seized by the TSF over the weekend as part of a drive against illegal activities going on in the beach-belt.
