A Chilean worker rescued four Argentine boys in La Serena

The Chilean authorities are searching intensively for him Alejandro Cabrera Iturriaga, A 17-year-old Argentine boy was swept away by the sea current on Monday Four cornersone of the most dangerous beaches in La Serena, in the center chili. Cabrera went to sea with four other Argentine boys and young men between the ages of 12 and 22, all cousins, at a point on the coast He has no lifeguards In this era. Francisco BoldoA Chilean worker who was returning from work on a bicycle heard cries for help, so he jumped into the sea and reached… Life saving Of four of them.

Boldo first helped his eldest cousin, 22, who was closest to the coast, and then…He went to sea in search of the other four. He followed three of them, and they were far from the coast He kept them afloat for half an hourUntil help arrived from the Chilean Navy. “The other one slipped through my fingers.”He expressed his regret in statements to the Chilean media.

Drifting ship and rescue on the high seas

The Chilean Navy, firefighters and civil defense teams from the municipalities of La Serena and Coquimbo, as well as fishermen and other organizations, continue to search the sea and coast for Alejandro. The young man was born in San Juan, but lives with his older brother in the town of Altovalsol, La SerenaWhere he studies at Gabriela Mistral High School. The other three victims of the accident were two of his siblings, a girl and a boy, and a cousin who lives in San Juan.

The dramatic story of the worker who saved four boys from drowning

Francisco Boldo, the construction worker who saved the lives of three of the four brothers and their cousin, told Chilean media what he witnessed on Monday morning. “I was coming on a bike along Cuatro Esquinas Beach. Suddenly I heard screaming, I heard a desperate mother say that all her children were drowning there, and that there were five of them. I threw my bike, I was wearing shorts, thank God, and then I jumped into the sea.”

“I see the first child who was drowning, and I saw that there were many children” he recalled. “I left him there, more or less on the beach, and went in to rescue a minor of twelve years of age, who was floating, and who I’m already gone. “I went to make him breathe louder, compress his chest, and make him throw up water, and he went back to normal.”

He had already helped three people, but more were missing. “I tried to calm him down so that I could take him, leaning on one arm, to look for his sister, who was a little further away. I pulled his sister, I was so desperate, it started to sink in, we started to sink“said the worker. Instead of trying to approach the coast through the waves, he did the opposite. “I managed to get out to sea, and went over the waves with the two of them, and there was another one inland. I formed a circle with them, asked them to pin us down, and we started doing it I am waiting. No one arrived, the waves increased, and more than half an hour remained inside“, He said.

Help took a long time, and when it arrived it wasn’t the most appropriate. “Suddenly the navy arrived on a boat, threw a tow buoy at us, and started dragging us. They started pulling the rope, and the children started swallowing water. I had them stop the boat and they had no resources, they didn’t have an inflatable boat to get close to, and they were throwing them around like animals,All the children were scratched” He concluded.

In another interview, Boldo explained: “When I was a boy I swam I participated in tournaments, and when I saw that desperate mother, I did not hesitate to take off my clothes and go to help.”The other one slipped out of my hands and got out of control.…”.

According to what he told the Chilean media, it has helped in recent months.”More than ten people“In danger of drowning in the sea.

An Argentine family spread between San Juan and La Serena

Facundo AraiHe is Alejandro’s older brother and lives with him in Altovalsol, La Serena, in the area Coquimbo. They come from a large San Juan family, in total Six brothers. “He lived in La Serena for a year. We are Argentine, but we were nationalized as Chileans by our grandparents,” he said. He arrived at Cuatro Esquinas Beach after the accident to accompany his mother.

Facundo recounted that one of his brothers, who is fourteen years old, is still there In the hospitalbut it’s getting better. “He woke up, was able to eat, was able to talk a little bit and rest,” he said. His mother is still in shock.

At the same time, teams Professional diversVolunteer rescuers from La Serena and Coquimbo and fishermen from Peñuelas Bay continue to search for Alejandro, in a joint effort that also includes… Drones. The family has not lost hope of finding him alive, but the odds are becoming increasingly remote.

M.B.

that.