UAE fisherman saves sailor who fell from ship

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: UAE fisherman saves sailor who fell from ship A fisherman saved the life of a sailor who almost drowned after apparently falling from a ship in the Arabian Gulf. Adel Hassan Al Zaabi said he found the Asian man motionless and floating in the water, about 7km off the Ras Al Khaimah coast. The 40-year-old Emirati told 7DAYS he was on the boat along with his crew when they spotted the sailor about 8.15am one morning last week. “I was surprised when I saw the man floating on the water. He was motionless,” Al Zaabi told 7DAYS yesterday. The fishermen pulled the sailor, who had no life jacket on, from the water and they laid him out on the deck. Al Zaabi said: “We thought he was dead as it looked like he had stopped breathing. On reaching the boat I realised that he still had a weak pulse.” The skipper, who modestly admitted he has rescued people from drowning in four separate incidents in his 24-year fishing career, performed CPR and the man came around. Al Zaabi said: “The man, who is from Asia, started to breathe again after I gave him first aid. “He was so fatigued and had spent more than a day in the water.” Paramedics, pictured above, were waiting on the jetty when the boat came in and rushed the sailor to hospital. Al Zaabi said the man was bleeding from his nose, fingers and feet. He said the sailor had wounds on his fingers and feet that looked like bite marks, although it was not clear what had caused them. RAK Police said the sailor’s condition has improved but officers are still trying to find out which vessel he served on. Al Zaabi said the sailor briefly regain consciousness and was able to speak to him. The sailor explained he had been fixing a rope on the outside of his ship when he fell into the water. Al Zaabi said it was possible the sailor’s crewmates did not see the accident. Khalifa Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Ras Al Khaimah Fishermen Cooperative Society, praised the actions of Al Zaabi and his crew. He said: “Al Zaabi is such a brave man with a big heart. He loves helping people.” ismail@7days.ae    Read the original story at: UAE fisherman saves sailor who fell from ship