(Trinidad Express) Two police officers risked their lives and rescued two men from drowning at a Blanchisseuse beach on Thursday.
PCs Kevin Sampson and Quincy Quintero braved waves more than ten feet high to save the men who were trapped on a rock approximately 150 feet from the shore of Mon Poui Beach, almost two kilometres from the Marianne Spring bridge.
The two were among a group of four doctors employed at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.
They were identified as Moses Paul, 26, of Chaguanas, Nicholas Bengie, 23, of Arouca, Vijai Ramkissoon, 34, of Williamsville, and Cody Sandasie, 27, also of Williamsville.
Sampson was back at work at the Blanchisseuse Police Station yesterday and spoke to the Express by phone.
He said Quintero is his best friend, and was off duty on Thursday from the San Juan Sub-Station, but came by to “check” him at his station when the distress call came in.
Quintero agreed to assist.
“I knew we had to render aid to them, it was a humanitarian call that we had to answer,” said Sampson.
Sampson said they drove almost five kilometres, parked their jeep at the bottom of a hill, then trekked another five kilometres through hilly terrain before they got to the beach.
Two men who were on the sand pointed out their two friends who were trapped on a rock, surrounded by turbulent waves, about 100 metres from the shore.
“One of the men was trapped on the rock and (the other) was on another area of the rock, cut up and bruised up. We had the life jackets and buoy and we got into the water with the intention of saving their lives. The sea was rough and the waves were higher that ten feet,” said Sampson.
But within minutes, and several metres from shore, the two police officers got dragged by the current away from the trapped men.
“As we started drift away from them, I started to think we came to save people here and might lose our lives. I saw (Quintero) was paddling and struggling a bit. Suddenly the current took us up. I born and grow up close to the sea in La Fillette so I told Quintero ‘Don’t give up, just float’. We ended up getting to safety. I saw fright in the guys’ faces (on the rock) but I was determined so we went back in the water again.”
‘I had to sweet talk the sea’
Sampson lived up to his biblical name and found the strength to dive back into the rough seas. The turbulent waters surrounding the rocks made it difficult for the stranded swimmers to move, he said.
“One of the men who was holding onto the rock, half his body was in the water while the other stood on another area. The one in the water said he not sure if he could hold on any longer. I kept talking to him as I negotiated the rocks and moved closer to him. I had to ‘sweet talk’ the sea as a lady and told her to be nice. My father used to talk to the sea when conditions were bad,” said Sampson.
Sampson said he was eventually able to climb onto the rock.
The officer said he advised the men that they had to move when the smaller waves surrounded them.
Sampson got close enough to throw a T-shirt to the man who was struggling on the rock and used it as a towing line to bring him out of the water while the other man climbed down the jagged rock edges.
“We had to take our time because it was very slippery from moss and the water. When we got close enough to the shore we jumped onto the sand,” said Sampson.
The four doctors hugged one another and the two police officers as they were overcome with emotion after defying possible death.
Sampson said he, too, was overwhelmed but was relieved that he had helped, and that he did not lose his best friend during the rescue.
The group took photos on the beach of their bonding moment.
The men sought treatment at the nearby health centre and were discharged.
