14-year-old rescues exhausted friend after boat capsizes

A 14-year-old student rescued a schoolmate who was tiring in the water after their boat capsized on Lake Köhniönjärvi in Jyväskylä in August, Yle reports. The Central Finland Rescue Department presented Samuel Nazareno with a certificate of recognition on Tuesday.

Three boys from Kuokkala Comprehensive School had gone out fishing during a school camp at Könkkölä, an event venue on the lake shore. Their teacher had told them not to take the boat because there were only two buoyancy aids for the three of them.

The boat began taking on water in the middle of the lake after its plug came loose, and it capsized. The boys started swimming towards shore, but one, who had no buoyancy aid, began to tire. His soaked hoodie and loose jeans made swimming harder.

Nazareno, who was wearing a buoyancy aid, grabbed his friend and towed him tens of metres to shore. The rescued boy said he probably would not have made it on his own.

“I’ve always been taught that you don’t leave your friends behind, whatever the situation,” Nazareno said. He attributed his swimming ability to regular trips to the pool with his father when he was younger, and said he had also practised diving.

Kimmo Voutilainen, a fire chief who was involved in the rescue response, said the danger had passed by the time the rescue service arrived. The crew only needed to tow the overturned boat to shore.

Voutilainen described Nazareno’s actions as exceptional, saying the swim would have been demanding even for an adult professional rescuer. The distance was several dozen metres and the water was about 17 degrees Celsius.