Samir (35) saved a man from water in Amsterdam-East: “Didn’t have time to think”
35-year-old Samir Boussita was driving unsuspectingly along the Maxwellstraat in Amsterdam-East, when he saw a man with a scooter fall into the water out of the corner of his eye. Along with another bystander image to get the man to safety. “I didn’t have time to think. All you know in such a moment is that you have to act quickly.”
The incident occurred just after 1 p.m. “I was on my way to a car wash in Diemen with my wife when I saw something fall into the water,” says Samir. “I couldn’t see who or what, but I saw a cargo bike nearby, so I immediately stopped the car and ran to the spot.”
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When the Samir arrived at the site, he saw the man lying in the water with his scooter. Without thinking, he jumped into the water. “Something like that happens very quickly. One moment you are in the car, the next you are in the middle of the water. At such a moment you do not know what is happening to you. I had no time to think. what you know in such a moment is that you have to act quickly.”
It wasn’t easy to get the man out of the water: “He was stuck in his seat,” he says, “first before I even got him out of the scooter. Then I had to lift him out of the water. The man was a a bit heavy, so that didn’t put me in my anything.”
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“But luckily a woman quickly came to my rescue,” continues Samir. “At that moment I didn’t see where she was coming from. Only later did I see that she, like me, had been driving the car by the side of the road.” With the help of the woman, it eventually arises to get the man the water. “He was bad then”, Samir, “couldn’t talk, was cold and all wet. In retrospect I think I saw it just in time.”
Police, ambulance and fire brigade were quickly on the scene. At that point, the bystanders had already managed to get the victim out of the water. The police say that the man is doing well, who is now back at home after a short treatment by paramedics. The scooter has also been helped with him.
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