Almost 12 hours later, Nicola Ibba, a 33-year-old railway worker from Elmas, recounts the rescue he carried out on Sunday morning in the sea off Solanas .

He was swimming not far from the beach when he noticed some boys swimming towards a man who apparently showed no signs of life. "I redoubled my strength, another swimmer followed me, whose name I don't know, we reached and brought that man ashore, an elderly person. I was told that his name is Daniele, apparently he is originally from Lunamatrona. I hope for the best. We didn't find any relatives on the beach. Maybe he came to Solanas for a solitary swim."

It was after 10 p.m., but Nicola had been thinking about that miraculous rescue at sea all day. "As soon as we dragged the old man to the beach, a woman, a doctor, came forward. The man showed no signs of life. The doctor then placed him on his side and made him pass a large amount of water he had swallowed. In the meantime, the emergency helicopter arrived: only then did the man show signs of life. Then he was hoisted onto the helicopter."

When asked “do you consider yourself a hero?” Nicola replies: «Not a chance. What I did with the other swimmer who was with me was done instinctively. It was necessary to save a person. That’s all. But don’t call me a hero».

Raffaele Serreli

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