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Sri Lankan policeman Sergeant Wimal Jayasekara bringing the injured Russian tourist out of the water at Hikkaduwa beach near the southern city of Galle.
People on Sri Lanka’s Hikkaduwa beach on the southern coast near Galle were shocked to see a foreigner dragging a woman into the sea at around 10.30am in the morning on Sunday and trying to choke her in the water, ‘The Nation’ newspaper reported.
Beach boys rushed into the sea and saved the woman who ran down the beach screaming.
The man was still in the sea shouting in an unknown language. Many people, including security guards, tourists and local residents, tried to bring him back to the shore.
Police who arrived at the scene could not subdue the boisterous man. He did not give in when the police tried to handcuff him and pull him out of the water.
After two hours, a sergeant arrived at the scene and, after removing his police unform, jumped into the water and reached the foreigner who surrounded by corals and sea urchins.
The police officer saw that the man was badly injured by sea urchins and he was screaming in pain.
After about five minutes of coaxing, the foreigner agreed to come out of the water and the police officer brought him to the shore.
The woman, who was assaulted by the foreigner, then ran to him and hugged him.
He was rushed to the hospital in a police jeep as he was severely bleeding from wounds caused by sea urchins.
Sergeant Wimal Jayasekara who rescued the foreigner said:“I am attached to the Tourist Police. This foreigner was attacking everyone who came near him. I am a life-saver and I have had similar experiences. When I reached him in the water, I realised that he was shouting in Russian. Luckily, I know several foreign languages including Russian.”
“He said he wanted to kill himself. I asked him to calm down. Little by little he obliged. You cannot force such a person to surrender. You have to be very friendly and subtle. I managed to convince him that he should come out of the sea and resolve his problems. I made him trust me. He was severely injured. The police rushed him to hospital,” he explained.
“The woman, who was assaulted by him, is his wife,” the sergeant said, adding, “We immediately realised that he was suffering from a mental disorder. It was later revealed that he was a drug addict. After treatment at Arachchikanda government hospital, he was transferred to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle.”
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