The balloon drifted further and further away, carried by the current in the waters of Mari Ermi. A small group of children watched it disheartened, while a 75-year-old man, without a second thought, dived in to try to retrieve it. This generous gesture, however, risked costing the pensioner from Baratili San Pietro dearly, who found himself in difficulty this morning: perhaps due to illness, he was unable to return to shore, partly because of the treacherous currents.

The alarm was raised by the children's mother, and the intervention of an officer from the Oristano Police Headquarters' nautical team was timely. He was off duty and on the beach with his family, and immediately dove in to reach the pensioner.

Once he reached him, he removed the diving mask, which was making it difficult for him to breathe. He then brought him back to shore, where he was assisted by the officer's wife, a nurse at San Martino Hospital, and by a 118 operator who was on the beach, waiting for the ambulance to arrive and transfer him to the hospital.

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