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Two Off-duty National Police Officers Save the Lives of Citizens in Humanitarian Interventions

12/09/2023
Two Off-duty National Police Officers Save the Lives of Citizens in Humanitarian Interventions

In Gijón and San Sebastián

    • The first event occurred on the beach of Zurriola, when an agent assigned to the Provincial Police Station of San Sebastián who was surfing had to rescue a couple of bathers who were struggling unsuccessfully to reach the shore
    • The woman rescued at sea recognized the agent because two weeks earlier she had attended her in the Office of Documentation of Foreigners
    • The other intervention took place at a golf club in Gijón, when a policeman assigned to the Irún police station performed a cardiac massage for more than twenty-five minutes to one of the members who had suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest.
    • According to the doctors who treated this man, a Swiss citizen living in Spain, thanks to the action of the agent and another member of the club the victim saved his life without irreversible consequences

    Two National Police officers assigned to the San Sebastián and Irún police station save the lives, respectively, of a citizen on Zurriola Beach in San Sebastián and of a man at a golf club in Gijón.

    The first humanitarian intervention took place on Zurriola Beach, when a surfer noticed that a couple who were bathing about 30 meters away from the shore were unable to reach it because of the great wave and the strong current of drag. Both swimmers were desperately swimming without success, so the police and two other surfers who were in the area and had also observed what had happened, started the rescue by swimming hastily on their boards towards them. When they reached them, the two surfers took care to assist the woman, while the agent went to the man providing him with his surfboard to use as a float. In this way and after a very long few minutes of fighting against the currents and the waves, he pulled the victim to the east area of the beach, where the currents were much smaller, thus managing to save him. Doing the same with the girl the other rescuers.

    Once on the shore and when the young woman was on her way to her rescuers to thank them for their help, she recognized the officer as the policeman who had treated her two weeks earlier at the office for the issuance of foreign documents.

    The second humanitarian action took place in a golf club in Gijón, and occurred when an employee of the same urgently required the presence of someone with knowledge in first aid, because one of the partners lay on the ground in an unconscious and cyanotic state.

    Given the seriousness of the situation, a national police officer assigned to the Irún Police Station on the spot quickly turned to the victim and after verifying that he did not respond to stimuli and showing that he was in cardiopulmonary arrest, he applied, with the help of another member of the club and coordinated through the 112 emergency service operator, a cardiac massage for twenty-five minutes, stabilizing him until the arrival of the I.V.U. Mobile, who transferred him to the local hospital.

    For this action, the agent received written thanks from the President of the Golf Club and from the victim himself, a Swiss citizen living in Spain who told him that, according to the doctors who treated him, his rapid assistance saved his life without having irreversible consequences.

    Three lines of support for the commercial sector

    - Support for sustainable urban markets: 162 beneficiary projects amounting to €186.09 million. It finances plans and projects of technological, innovative and sustainability content, as well as improvement of equipment, aimed at the commercial sector that is located in its demarcation.

    - Aid to areas of tourist influx: 73 beneficiary projects worth EUR 85 million. It aims to support those commercial establishments located in tourist areas and improve the shopping experience of visitors.

    - Support for sustainable rural markets: 111 beneficiary projects worth EUR 42 million. Aimed at the implementation, modernization and promotion of commercial activity in rural areas (localities with less than 5,000 inhabitants), improving the competitiveness, sustainability and diversification of the rural economy.

    Beneficiary projects in the call for 2023

    The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has published the proposal for a final resolution of the call for 2023 of the three lines of aid to support the commercial sector: 118 projects will receive a total of EUR 105 million.

    This last call for applications from the lines of support to the commercial sector has had a high participation, as evidenced by the high number of applications received, with more than 560 initiatives presented.

    In addition, the financial allocation of the rural areas aid line has been increased, with a sum of 22 million euros for 2023, and projects that improve energy efficiency have also been valued.

    “These actions will have a direct impact on the benefit of the population, fighting against the demographic challenge, generating employment opportunities and revitalizing commercial activity in rural areas,” according to Gómez.

    More information

    1. Aid for Trade in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan:

    https://comercio.gob.es/es-es/prtr-comercio/Paginas/Plan-de-Recuperacion-Comercio.aspx

    2. Call for Proposals 2023, final resolution proposal:

    2.1. Sustainable markets:

    https://www.mincotur.gob.es/PortalAyudas/mercados-sostenibles/Concesion/2023/Documents/MERCADOS%20FAVORABLE%20DEFINITIVA.pdf

    2.2. Rural areas:

    https://www.mincotur.gob.es/PortalAyudas/mercados-sostenibles-zonas-rurales/Concesion/2023/Documents/RURALES%20FAVORABLES%20DEFINITIVOS.pdf

    2.3. Areas of tourist influx:

    https://www.mincotur.gob.es/PortalAyudas/Fortalecimiento-ZonasTuristicas/Concesion/2023/Documents/TURISTICAS%20%20FAVORABLE%20DEFINITIVA.pdf