This is the bizarre moment a driver was left floating in his half-submeregd car – as the emergency services refused to rescue him.
The man, named Baba Habib, could not drive his vehicle to safety after he was caught in sudden flooding last Tuesday afternoon in Jeddah, Suadi Arabia.
Hundreds of residents stood watching as he leaned from the window calling for help. He was afraid of leaping into the water because he cannot swim.
One policeman hurled a life-jacket at the vehicle but it fell feebly into the water.
Baba seemed to be stranded until Filipino worker Dawood Balindo, 30, ignored warnings and told onlookers ‘’this is ridiculous, I’m going to get him’’.
Dawood, a driver, said: ”I left the house at 9 A.M. and the rain was pouring down. I saw the man held in the water. I did not stop myself, I left the car I was driving and rushed to save him. Civil defence men were watching me saving him
”I knew I had to jump and brave the floods in order to save Baba.
”Without thinking about any consequences, no one helped me, I did everything on my own, and when I took the man out of the water, the rescuers told me that they were waiting for the water to recede to get him out of the middle of the stream.
”The police and civil defense officers said that I risked myself, because the torrent could have washed me away, and they were kept away from the water.
”I have been living in the Kingdom for a year and two months, coming from Dubai to work in private cars.”
Officials in Jeddah said that they have ordered an investigation into the the incident and demanded an explanation why the officers did not rescue the man.
