Rome, Aug 16 (IANS/AKI) A 49-year-old Tunisian drowned attempting to rescue his 13-year-old son who got into difficulty while swimming at a beach near Ragusa in Sicily, police said on Tuesday.
A double tragedy was avoided when an off-duty policewoman swam out to the teen and rescued him after she heard his 12-year-old brother screaming for help from the shore.
Averted by the police officer, beachgoers formed a human chain to reach the boys' father and a 24-year-old Italian swimmer who was struggling to swim back to shore but the Tunisian died at the scene.
The Italian was taken to hospital but was not in a critical condition, doctors said. Police are investigating the incident, which happened at the resort of Costa Fenicia.