On Tuesday, June 15, the former Chief of the State Border Guard, retired Border Guard General Gunārs Dāboliņš, rescued a woman who drowned in Daugava.
On Tuesday morning, while walking with a dog along the coast of Daugava, the former Chief of State Border Guard spotted a black-and-white silhouette in the municipality of Kekava, which attracted his attention. As he walked closer to the water, the general saw a woman drowning and rushed to rescue her.
"I began to take action, assessing all the circumstances and my options. I went into the water, pulled out an unconscious woman and quickly remembered everything I was taught in the military school and the border guards and I took life-saving measures," recalls the general.
The former Chief of the State Border Guard could not call the Emergency Medical Service immediately because he had gone out without a cell phone on the fateful morning. But as soon as the first medical measures had been taken, the general left his dog on guard, and he immediately ran for the phone.
By dialing the unified emergency number, the general reported on woman's condition as well as the work carried out and followed the medical recommendations on the follow-up to the arrival of the Emergency Service.
Not long after the witness statement was taken, the words of gratitude to general were passed on by the husband of the rescued woman. As it has been clarified later the woman is fine, and she's discharged from the hospital.
“I looked at what happened and I wondered how in a stressed situation the man has the power to run, act and think, and I would like to highlight a number of things. First, when you go to the water or to the forest, you must always take a charged phone with you. The second – before deciding on your personal behavior, consider whether you are able to do it and not to turn it worse for the person. But if you have decided to help, you have to act quickly and decisively,” the former Chief of the State Border Guard shares his thoughts.