A quick-thinking Oregon fisherman is being hailed a hero after rescuing a girl who fell off a jet ski into the Columbia River. Last Wednesday, Mynor Recinos was fishing from his Portland home’s riverside patio when he spotted two girls struggling in the water after falling off their jet ski while out in the rough water. A pontoon boat was assisting one of the girls, so Recinos rushed to help the other girl, who was battling the waves and almost sliding out of her life vest.
Recinos told a bystander to call for help then tied a rope to his waist and found a spot on the riverbank where he’d be closest to the drowning girl. He then jumped into the river and swam 60 feet out to reach the girl, lifted her head above the water, and swam back to shore with her in tow. The whole time, Recinos says he was telling the girl to “not get nervous,” and she was asking him to not leave her.
Apparently, this rescue wasn’t even his first life-saving intervention. In an interview with a local TV station, he revealed that he once almost drowned while attempting a similar rescue, which is why he tied the rope to his waist before heading out into the river. When it was suggested that Recinos was a hero for his selfless act, he disagreed, but many commenters on social media are calling for local authorities to formally recognize him for the courageous rescue.
Source: THE GUARDIAN