Sergeant Jairo Oliveira, who disappeared after rescuing a French tourist on the beach in Jericoacoara, Ceará, managed to save himself and reach the shore alive after swimming for more than four hours.
Jairo received a call around 5:40 pm on Tuesday (6) to help a tourist who had problems with his kitesurfing equipment on the main beach of Jericoacoara. After the rescue, the firefighter returned to the sea to fetch the sports equipment.
According to the Secretariat of Public Security of Ceará, the kite of the kitesurfing equipment got tangled in the jet ski that Jairo was on and caused an electrical failure, leaving the firefighter adrift.
Jairo only managed to return to the coast on Wednesday (7), and was found on Tatajuba beach, in Camocim. The distance between the main beach of Jericoacoara and Tatajuba, in a straight line, is 21.3 km.
“I waited and when I saw that I was getting further away from the coast, I abandoned the jet ski around 9 pm and swam to dry land around 1:30 am,” reported the sergeant.
After the fireman disappeared, rescue teams were called and went in search of Jairo, but were unsuccessful.
“After a few hours, I started to hear the sound of the waves crashing and I calmed down, because I knew I was close to the sand”, he said.
After the episode, the Military Fire Department of the State of Ceará announced that Jairo will be promoted for bravery.
*With information from Carolina Figueiredo
Source: CNN Brasil
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