Due to weather patterns triggered by Storm Nesat, rough seas were observed along beaches of Cua Lo Town. Strong waves relentlessly smashed into the shore, sweeping away a 56-year-old tourist. Fortunately, he knew how to swim and hung onto a rock, about seven meters from the shoreline.
Two lifeguards then used ropes to gain access to the tourist, with four others creating a path to shore with wooden planks.
Tran Tuan Anh, director of the Cua Lo Town Center for Rescue and Natural Disaster Prevention, said the rescue took about 15 minutes. It was the first time such an incident had occurred, he said.
Storm Nesat weakened and eventually devolved into a tropical depression and then a depression zone as it moved toward central Vietnam's coastline due to the effects of cold air on Wednesday night. By 1 p.m. Thursday, the depression zone was above sea regions between Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue, with winds weaker than 39 kph.