A 61-year-old man suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest while he was on the beach at Pedrinhas beach, in Apúlia, earlier this Sunday afternoon, O MINHO source at CDOS de Braga told O MINHO.
The victim began to feel ill and ended up losing consciousness, ceasing to breathe, much to the distress of the wife who was next to him.
A nurse who was on the beach at leisure watched the situation and started maneuvers for immediate life support, with the help of a team of two lifeguards from the Decimal Coordinated Association who were watching over that space.
The emergency medical vehicle and INEM resuscitation with defibrillator quickly arrived and ended up reversing the victim’s death situation.
The lifeguards asked for the help of a support pick-up, belonging to the association, which was on the sand in Viana do Castelo, which quickly moved to Esposende.
With the help of the van, it was possible to transport the victim to the ambulance, since he was still “at a long distance” from the place where he was parked, said a source from the Fão Fire Department, a corporation that mobilized the emergency vehicle.
Pedro Verne and Miguel Oliveira, coordinated by the lifeguards, provided the first psychological support to the victim’s wife, who was very upset. Shortly afterwards, the INEM team of psychologists, composed of a doctor and a nurse, arrived to provide more specialized assistance to his wife.
The victim was then stabilized by the Fão Firefighters inside the ambulance and taken to the Hospital de Braga with a different accompaniment from the VMER doctor in Barcelos, being considered a “seriously injured”.
The GNR of Esposende registered the occurrence.
Firefighters source indicated that the role of lifeguards in this occurrence was “fundamental” for everything to go well.
Paramedic in the Pyrenees in aid
MINHO spoke with Pedro Verne, coordinator of the lifeguards of the Decimal Coordinated Association, to understand how the team works in this type of occurrences.
Pedro is a paramedic in a rescue team in the Pyrenees during the winter season, while companion Miguel, who accompanies him, is a member of the Red Cross, with both of them having enough knowledge of sudden illness. It was they who drove the pick-up that rescued the man from the beach.
It was explained to us that this association is present on all beaches in Viana do Castelo, but also on three in the municipality of Esposende, as well as on the beaches of Caminha with a quad bike.
“In Esposende we have swimmers at Pedrinhas / Cedovém beach, Praia da Barra in Suave Mar and still in Cepães. We walk a bridge between Praia da Gelfa, in Caminha, and Vila Praia de Âncora, using a quad bike ”, he says.
As for the pick-up van that was instrumental in quickly rescuing the victim from the beach, the official explains that it works in Viana do Castelo but is always ready for some serious occurrence along the entire length of the Minho beach, from the Forte do Cão, plus the North, to the Esposende area.
There is also the support of an Amarok vehicle, from the Instituto de Socorro a Náufragos, paid by the Viana do Castelo City Council, which is manned by a Marine marine and a lifeguard, who was also at the Esposende event, at the request of the Association.
The vehicles also monitor on unsupervised beaches, for the sake of prevention and to ensure the well-being of all bathers, regardless of whether the beach is licensed.
“I think it is important to realize that lifeguards in Minho save hundreds of lives every year, and that we try to make a difference to swimmers, who are always our main concern,” he concluded.
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