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A 20-year-old French tourist had a dramatic early morning rescue from Alicante's port waters on Thursday February 19, after falling in drunk and battling to stay afloat. Around 6.15am, a passer-by walking nearby spotted him clinging desperately to the pier rocks near La Concha and called the Policía Nacional. Officers rushed over to find the young man barely keeping his head above water, showing clear signs of exhaustion and hypothermia.

 

An eyewitness gave a vivid account. "He was practically invisible and stuck to the wall of the dock like a lizard," they said. Despite injuries to his arms, hands and legs from repeated attempts to climb out, police were able to use ropes to haul him to safety.

 

Too cold and worn out to speak at first, he later explained to the Policía Nacional that he lives in Pau, southwest France, where he is a student, had come to Alicante to see friends, drank heavily the night before and slipped when he got too near the port edge.

 

He was taken straight to Doctor Balmis General Hospital where he's now recovering.

 

Image: wikicommons