Swimmers who get into three feet deep water can easily swim. If they go beyond six or seven feet, they will feel the pressure in their ear and start hearing unknown sounds. If he doesn’t dive properly, after 9 feet, he may lose control, unless he has practiced well. The chief trainer of ITUS Mr Jacob Vijay Kumar, who trained the SDRF at Vijayawada, explained the techniques and threats in swimming.
Mr Jacob has given training to the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) in the Andhra Pradesh recently. He has swam 29 Km at Sunkesula Dam. He has trained Baywatch style in Australia. He has told that swimming or rescue operations in still water is different from flowing water. In flowing water, the pressure will not let us swim in the desired direction. The depth of water also plays an important role. Length and depth of the water cannot be a hurdle, if we have vast practice.
Saving people in the water is different from recovering bodies from water, Mr Jacob opined. As per his calculation, after we jump into the water, a mere three minutes is enough to lose their life. He has explained that because of this, rescue operations are important. He said, “Tracing dead bodies in the water is a tough task. If we are late, we have to wait until the body floats. Because, within minutes, the temperature of the body will come down drastically. We cannot identify the temperature. It is only now that we are using sensors to estimate the size of the object.”
Mr.Jacob has told that the help of the locals is very important in the rescue operations. He said that, “Suddenly we will get a call. We have to rush to the point. We do not know the depth of the water. Whether there are stones or solid mud, we do not know. Many times locals have helped us in these matters. They have guided us which direction we have to go, and what will be the depth at particular point”. Lot of Practice, strong mental ability and stability are required to participate in the rescue operations as per Mr.Jacob Vijay Kumar, experienced and Senior Trainer, presently working in ITUS Company.
