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Life saver thwarts Tamar trouble
 Wong Chi-fai gets a hearty 'well done' from DC Central Mike Francis |
A bronze medal in life saving recently paid off for Wong Chi-fai who saved a drowning man off the Tamar site in Admiralty.
It was the first time in the 10 years since he had obtained the medal that the former Lamma Island lifeguard had to put his skills to the test. The Workman II of Waterfront Division was collecting mills barriers with colleagues on February 9 when he heard a scream for help.
He said: "Seeing a man struggling in the water, I looked around for life-saving equipment but there wasn't any so I took off my shoes and jacket and jumped in. He was panic-stricken and about to grab me but from what I learned in life-saving classes, both of us would drown if he did not let me go. So I yelled at him to stay calm and held him up by his sides to get his head out of the water."
The harbour was so rough the two were washed against a bank by swells caused by passing vessels.
"What was even worse was the freezing water. I couldn't do anything but hold him with one arm while clutching a wooden-plank seawall so that we wouldn't be washed away," he said. One of his arms was severely scratched by sharp barnacles on the wood.
Trapped about four metres below the bank, Mr Wong's colleagues tried in vain to help with a bamboo pole which turned out to be too short. Luckily Fire Services Department officers soon arrived and pulled them to safety.
It was later learned that the 37-year-old man had been unemployed for a long period and wanted to take his own life.
Central District Commander Mike Francis commended Mr Wong for his bravery and vowed to nominate him for an award from the Director of Marine.