A British lifeguard has volunteered to rescue people from boats that have brought them in the Aegean Sea as they try to escape from war-torn countries. However, the most harrowing for that lifeguard was that he had to save babies, some are just months old, from the freezing waters.
The lifeguard was identified as 32-year-old Richard Heard from Hartland, Devon. He has completed three missions on the Greek island of Lesbos and he said that refugees try to cross from Turkey to Greece weekly.
Heard dedicated 14 weeks of his time last year. He shared that because he was a team leader at Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), he was used to responding to distress alerts anytime of the day and saving around 50 to 60 people each time via inflatable boats.
North-West Evening Mail reported that now, he is part of the Refugee Rescue team and they have been conducting rock rescues. Rock rescues involve patrolling coves on the Lesbos coastline in an attempt to find small groups trying to cross the sea.
Heard said these groups of people are smuggled via speedboats. Some people are dropped on a sandy beach while others are thrown into the water and they would have to swim for their life to get to safety.
Heard also shared these secluded coves are where these people are being left because authorities won't see them. He said that it is difficult since the temperature has begun to drop once again.
Heard noted that he had to carry babies that were just months old into the water and into a boat sometimes at night or during daytime. Heard added these people are "dropped on a strange coastline in the dark, their luggage, their phone - everything they own is either gone or soaked," Belfast Telegraph reported.
Most of the time, refugees believe Heard and the other rescuers are the authority and they fear they will be sent back to Turkey. He said that another ordeal they face is reassuring them that they are safe, calm them down and have them trust the rescuers.
