A heroic Scottish swimmer dubbed ‘The Mermaid’ has rescued a drowning Spaniard on a beach in Thailand.
Scott Siranat, a dual Thai-Scottish conservationist, spotted the tourist near Koh Hong in Krabi province on Aug. 29 while on patrol with Marine Corps officers waving. Without hesitation, the 25-year-old jumped into the water and paddled. He walked the way of the drowning man.
He grabbed the breathless holidaymaker and dragged him back to safety on shore.
Scott revealed in the video that while he was out with Than Bok Khorani National Park staff, he noticed a group of six tourists wading about 50 meters from the beach.
However, one of them seems to be struggling to make ends meet.
The swimming hero said: “I swam to help him and he grabbed my shoulder as if asking for help. I saw his snorkel was full of water and took it off and pulled him back to shore.
“Glad we got to see him right away. Had it been a bit later, his fate could have been worse.”
The Spanish tourist was treated by local doctors and has since recovered. Veteran swimmer Scott set a new record in April, becoming the youngest person in Asia to swim 50 kilometers solo, earning him the nickname “The Mermaid”.
He has swam across the provinces of Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket in southern Thailand to promote marine conservation. Last year, Siranat, whose mother is Thai and father is Scottish, left Ao Nang Beach at 10am and returned to Ao Nang at 4.30pm.
The distance on the map was about 30 kilometers, but it was farther, as he swam through fast currents. Siranat studied in the US and misses swimming in Thai waters.
He said he particularly likes Thailand’s Andaman coast. For the past three years, he has worked with locals on dialogue projects in Phuket and Krabi, including collecting litter from the beach.
He also collects from the water the remains of old fishing nets that could harm wildlife. Siranat explained that there is a lot of plastic waste in the ocean.
Swimming through the waste like a fish, he was able to experience what marine life really is like in polluted waters.
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