Alfaz lifesaver’s vital role

LIFESAVER Alejandro Ortiz Montesinos was the first to reach a young Ukrainian woman who fell from Benidorm’s Castillo landmark.
“I only thought about getting her out of the water.  Get her out, get her out,” the 22-year-old from Alfaz told the local Spanish media. “I couldn’t think about anything else.”
The 26-year-old tourist fell while taking a selfie on the railings that surround the Castillo headland between Benidorm’s Levante and Poniente beaches.
Alejandro, who has spent the last five summers as a Benidorm lifeguard, went to the spot where she fell with three other RA Benidorm lifesavers in the service’s rescue boat.
Unable to manoeuvre the boat close enough to the base of the cliff in the choppy sea, Alejandro dived into the water, struggling to reach the young woman as the waves crashed into the rocks.
He and another lifesaver finally managed to get her to the launch where they began reviving her on the way to Benidorm port.
Here she was stabilised by a SAMU ambulance team who transferred her to Alicante General hospital owing to the severity of her condition.