Samir (35) saved a man from water in Amsterdam-East: “Didn’t have time to think”

The incident happened just after 1 p.m. in the afternoon. “I was on my way to a car wash in Diemen with my wife when I saw something fall into the water,” says Samir. “I couldn’t see who or what, but I saw a cargo bike nearby, so I immediately decided to stop the car and run to the spot.”

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When the Samir arrived at the site, he saw the man lying in the water with his scooter. Without thinking, he jumped into the water. “Something like that happens very quickly. One minute you’re in the car, the next you’re up to your waist in water. At a moment like that you don’t know what hit you. I didn’t have time to think. what you know in such a moment is that you have to act quickly.”

It was not easy to get the man out of the water: “He was stuck in his seat”, he says, “It took me a while to get him out of the scooter. Then I had to lift him out of the water. The man was a bit heavy, so I couldn’t do it on my own.”

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“But luckily a woman quickly came to my aid”, Samir continues. “At that moment I didn’t see where she was coming from. Only later did I see that she, like me, had parked the car on the side of the road.” The woman eventually managed to get the man out of the water. “He was bad then,” says Samir, “couldn’t talk, was cold and completely wet. In retrospect I think I saw it just in time.”

Police, ambulance and fire brigade were quickly on the scene. At that point, the bystanders had already managed to get the victim out of the water. The police say that the man is now doing well, who is now back at home after a short treatment by paramedics. The scooter has now also been returned to him.