Day out at Kusu Island turns into emergency rescue of man in water

Mr Inigo Nicolas Ortiz and his friends were having a picnic on Kusu Island last Saturday to celebrate his birthday when they heard people shouting.

At first, he thought they were fellow visitors having fun, but the 28-year-old quickly realised that something was amiss.

"We listened more closely and realised we could hear panic in their voices," the Spanish national told The Straits Times yesterday.

"They were waving towards the water and when I looked over, I saw a man floating in it."

Mr Ortiz entered the water without delay and swam to the man.

The man was unconscious, and he thought he "was carrying a dead body", he said.

As an avid swimmer with experience in free diving, he managed to keep the man's head above water and brought him to shore. He then tried to revive him. The man eventually vomited and started breathing again, said Mr Ortiz.

The senior licensing and artist relations manager said: "I was thinking of his family while I was carrying him. Sometimes, he was breathing but sometimes he wasn't. I was just hoping for a good outcome of the situation."

One of Mr Ortiz's friends, who declined to be named, said he was worried when he saw Mr Ortiz struggling in the water under the large man's weight. The 32-year-old engineer had also dived in to help the victim.

With help from some people on jet skis, they managed to get the 28-year-old man onto a boat, which then sailed to Sentosa as Mr Ortiz felt they would get medical help faster there.

"I was running on adrenaline, slapping him to keep him from going unconscious," Mr Ortiz said. "Slowly, he went from just breathing to mumbling a few words. He tried opening his eyes a few times, but you can tell he was not 100 per cent conscious."

The police said they were alerted at 2.37pm last Saturday to a suspected drowning incident involving two men off Kusu Island.

One was the 28-year-old man rescued by Mr Ortiz. He was later taken to Singapore General Hospital by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The other was a 24-year-old man who is still missing.

After getting medical help for the man, Mr Ortiz returned to Kusu Island and learnt that there had been a second man in the water whom they had not noticed.

Mr Ortiz's friend, who had stayed behind while the others were getting help in Sentosa, had searched the water for an hour for the second man with other beachgoers, to no avail.

The friend said: "It was devastating not being able to find the other person. I'm still very shocked and sad about what happened. It took me a while to get over it a little bit. It does weigh on you."

Mr Ortiz met the family and friends of the two men on the island. He told the brother of the 28-year-old that the man was fine and receiving medical help.

"He was in shock, he didn't know how to react," Mr Ortiz said of the brother.

The SCDF said search efforts to locate the missing person are still ongoing.