A Saudi tourist swam for five hours to save his wife. He swam for five hours to reach the shore and seek help to save his stranded wife on Pattaya Beach in Thailand.
The man eventually saved his wife, local authorities reported on Thursday. Abdulrahman Mahdi M Al-Aamri and his wife Atheer Saeed A. Al-Amri were reported missing at 6.30 pm local time, prompting immediate rescue operation by Pattaya City Authority. The incident happened when their jet ski capsized in Pattaya Bay in Thailand.
The jet ski operator made a call to the local authorities. “We received a call at 6:30 pm from a jet ski operator that one of their jet skis and the clients were missing. So, we set out on a search operation,” said Nattanon Chamnankul, head of Pattaya City Sea Rescue.
The rescue effort proved fruitless despite the best efforts of the team. The team navigated the dark sea, strong winds, and drizzle for five hours but unsuccessfully rescued her in an operation that continued for five hours.
As the search boat returned to Jomtien Beach, authorities discovered Abdulrahman swimming towards the shore, exhausted but determined.
“The husband had swum for five hours to reach the shore and was worried about his wife. He used the lights on the beach as a guide,” Chamnankul said. “He was in a state of extreme fatigue when he was rescued.”
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The rescue boat then took Abdulrahman on board and continued the search for Atheer. “We found his wife at 2 a.m., six hours after the search began,” Chamnankul said. “At first the sea was dark, but we heard a small voice in the sea and it was her.”
Their jet ski had capsized in the middle of the ocean and its engine was damaged by seawater. After the jet ski ran out of fuel, Abdulrahman decided to swim to the shore to get help.
Atheer had suffered a minor leg injury but overall the couple was in good health. The couple returned to Saudi Arabia after settling the damage cost with the jet ski operator for 50,000 Thai baht ($1,400).