Mapusa: Showing his presence of mind, a local fisherman, Raj Chodankar, on Sunday acted swiftly and rescued a youth from Kerala, who was stranded in a rocky area of River Chapora near the jetty as the level of the river water increased.

According to the information available, the incident occurred on Sunday morning when two youth, both natives of Kerala, had proceeded towards the rocks located near the Chapora jetty to enjoy the scenic beauty there.

However, after some time, they found themselves stranded on the rocks, as the river water level increased due to high tide. To save themselves from getting drowned, they climbed on separate rocks and waited for help.

One of the youth was spotted in distress by Chodankar and another fisherman.

The fishermen were returning back with their canoes after fishing. Chodankar immediately rowed his canoe towards the youth to rescue him and managed to get him on his canoe.

Chodankar said, “When I noticed the youth, he was standing in the rocky area and the rocks were surrounded by the rising water of the river. I gave him a life jacket and got him on my canoe. When I asked him whether there was anyone else with him, the youth said his friend was there with him who was scared.”

Chodankar accordingly called up the police and informed them about the incident. Later, the rescued youth was handed over to the police.

As the police were proceeding with the rescued youth towards the police station, the youth saw his friend, who told the police that he had managed to escape from the rocks and had rushed towards the market area to get help for his friend. However, as he could not speak in Hindi or English, he was unable to communicate with the people there.

Police said the names of the youth are Dipu P.K. and Rahul Santosh.