In this area located outside the surveillance perimeter, Dimitri does not hesitate to jump into the water to help them. Just like Julien who arrives from the open sea with his boogie board. “This kid was really great,” insists the policeman. He saved their lives.
In front of them, a man can no longer catch his breath. Driss, 31, holds her five-year-old son trying to lift him as best he can above the waves. Fortunately, the little one is equipped with an inflatable vest but the father is exhausted. His wife, his niece and his nephew have just managed to pull themselves up on a rock. Ghizlane shouts for help and tries to reassure the 13-year-old girl and the 17-year-old boy who are hard of hearing.
It is at this crucial moment that Julien, 12 and a half, comes up to the father of the family and hoists him on his board with the boy. “I was going to drown. I had been trying to get back to the edge for tens of minutes. I couldn’t swim anymore, I was sinking,” says Driss.
A very useful course
Julien Roumat may live in Île-de-France, he spends all his summers on the beaches of Biarritz. In July, he did a coastal rescue course at Port Vieux with the Biarritz club. “I applied what I was taught”. The teenager also showed rare composure.
Dimitri, who saw him at work, confirms: “Without him, they would not have come out alive”. While the teenager intervenes, Dimitri keeps an eye and collects information which he transmits to his CRS colleagues a few minutes later. Boards and ropes allowed the professionals to bring the five victims to the ground where the firefighters were able to verify that everyone was safe and sound.
This pretty spot away from the crowds is certainly pleasant but swimming is prohibited.
Raphaelle Gourin
During this time, Julien has left the premises. “We looked for him to thank him again” say Driss and Ghizlane who returned to Aurimont, in the Gers, where they live.
The mother of the family sees the images that she is not about to forget: “We were all swimming together and all of a sudden, a wave broke and we did not see each other again. My niece and my nephew are deaf-mutes. I tried to communicate with the little sign language I know. Their parents who were on the beach with my daughter are also hard of hearing. They didn’t hear me”. The family, which is originally from Arles, admits its ignorance of the Atlantic Ocean. “We weren’t suspicious, we did as when we go to the Mediterranean”.
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