A real drama was taking place under the Old Bridge in Mostar, when the migrant sought refreshment from the heat of the day in the Neretva River. He jumped off a rock and then failed to swim out of the river. Afterwards, the former football player of Velez, Dzenan Durakovic, pulled out the migrant from the river and transported by ambulance to see a doctor.
Durakovic told “Avaz” that the person was swimming like everyone else and that he heard from the sound that he jumped very badly, in fact he fell into the water on his stomach.
“By the time I ran from a nearby cafe to the boats, he had already been swept away by the water,” Dzenan tezplained.
He says it was impossible to get him out of the water right away because he was alone on the boat.
“I jumped into the water and I needed for 5-10 minutes to swim to him. At one point he sank completely, I didn’t even see him. Somehow I dived and fought until I found him,” adds Dzenan.
He points out that at no point did he think of letting the young man go.
“When I caught him, at no point did I think of letting him go. Luckily the boat was there. I managed to grab the rope from the boat and then it was already a little easier. My colleague Mirza Pajic jumped in and helped me put him in the boat and pull him out from under the plateau,” says Dzenan.
He added that this is the tenth time in the last five years that something like this has happened.
“He left the hospital after the infusion. He cried, he didn’t know where his things were, I took off my sneakers and gave it to him,” says Dzenan.
Finally, he adds that this is only a human act, not a heroic one, although we rightly call him the hero of the day.
“I’m no hero. This is just a human act. I probably have a little bigger heart than the others, I’m not afraid. Definitely, this was one of the more difficult interventions,” concludes Dzenan.
