Dubai: A man who feared swimming in the open sea, single-handedly saved four residents from drowning at Jumeirah Open Beach on Saturday.
Alvin Pancito, 30, a Filipino, was on the beach at 2am on Saturday when he heard loud screams for help. He was on the beach for a midnight picnic with a group of friends.
“’Help! Help!’ A woman cried in my language,” Pancito, who initially hesitated to speak to the media about his heroic act, said. “I ran to where the screams came from and where onlookers gathered but it was too dark to see anything.”
“I waited a bit to see what was happening and if anyone would run for help.”
But no one did. Pancito, an amateur swimmer, said the sea was rough and the waves did not seem inviting.
“I overheard one onlooker saying, ‘I won’t take the risk, it’s just too dangerous’,” he said.
But the Filipino who works in a hypermarket chain could not ignore the distress calls. One of his friends who witnessed the event said Pancito just dove into the water to help.
“I initially thought he was just exercising. Then all of a sudden he jumped out of the water with one woman on each side,” Bryan Javier, a friend of Pancito who witnessed the event, told Gulf News.
Boyet Sanchez, manager of a production company, said: “We saw him save two women first. Big waves swept the other two further away but Alvin managed to reach the man who appeared to be an Arab.”
Pancito said once all three were on shore, one bystander shouted that there was one more person in the sea. But no one could see her because it was very dark. “One onlooker who had a flashlight directed it at the sea and we saw one hand. Her whole body was submerged in water and being tossed to and fro by the waves,” Pancito said.
Pancito swam back to save the woman who was unconscious when they reached the shore. Ambulance services came and helped the victims, two of whom were resuscitated. They were taken to hospital immediately.
Gulf News contacted the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services but no official was immediately available for comment.
“The third woman who was the last one to be saved was unconscious. After she gained consciousness, she hugged and thanked me. But I told her to lie back and rest,” Pancito said.
Pancito said he didn’t manage to get the contacts of the victims because it was not his priority. He just wanted to help without expecting anything in return.
Javier said Pancito’s reaction to the whole incident was unbelievable.
“What shocked us was the sheer strength of character and courage that Alvin showed. Despite his physical appearance, he is a thin guy actually, he managed to save all four people. To us he was like Superman swimming back and forth non-stop, risking his life for total strangers,” Javier said. “By the time he finished, he was exhausted.”
When asked why he did it, Pancito said because no one else at that time would. When he heard the calls for help, an incident from childhood came to mind.
“Thirteen years ago, my sister was close to drowning in the sea and there was no one to help. I saw her almost lifeless but I managed to reach her and take her to safety,” Pancito said.
“To be honest, I’m really scared of the sea. I have been so since that happened to my sister. But on Saturday, there was no time to think. I just had to go and help them in whatever way I can.”
