TRYVER Castro Manglona, 29, a Susupe resident, saved two teens from being swept out to the channel at the Sugar Dock in Chalan Kanoa Sunday afternoon, Precinct 2 Republican party candidate Eric Esteves said.
Esteves said he and Manglona were at the shoreline when they heard a commotion at the dock. Someone was calling for help, Esteves added.
“We ran to the end of the dock, and we saw two teens struggling,” he said.
The high tide was coming in and the current was strong, he added.
As a father and a certified lifeguard, Manglona said “it was instinct on my part to jump in and rescue the teens that were being swept by the current.”
He said the teens “were in a bad spot — I saw their arms smacking/ flapping on the water….”
He then grabbed life jackets that were on the dock, donated by Jeremiah Benavente of the Public School System.
“I was thankful that there were life jackets there,” Manglona said. “I grabbed one as I ran toward the end of the Bantalan dock and jumped in. Eric stayed at the dock, ready to assist if needed. It was teamwork. In such situations, I would not think twice about saving a child’s life,” Manglona added.
He said he grew up in the area, and this was not the first time he had saved individuals in the waters off Sugar Dock.
“To avoid situations like this we should have Department of Public Safety boating safety officers on jet skis to patrol crowded beach areas on the weekend where families get together,” Manglona added.
Medics were not called as the two teens he rescued were safe and sound, he said.
Sugar Dock
