Around 200 people were transported by sea from the beaches affected by the fire that broke out near the Villasimius coast on Sunday.
After the evacuation of Punta Molentis and other locations threatened by flames and smoke , the bathers were disembarked at the port, where they were assisted by 118 personnel who intervened with an advanced rescue vehicle with nurses on board, "India 51".
No injuries were reported. Among those evacuated were a pregnant woman in her sixth month of pregnancy and an asthmatic child.
Here's the story of the rescue, in a statement from the Coast Guard that reconstructs the day of fire and fear.
Following a large fire that broke out near the beach of Punta Molentis, the Operations Room of the Cagliari Port Authority received numerous requests for assistance at approximately 4:15 PM from bathers requesting rescue by sea, the only means of escape as the flames and smoke had already reached the beach . The Operations Room of the Cagliari Port Authority promptly took over coordination of the operations and ordered the immediate dispatch to the area of the dependent SAR patrol boat M/V CP 320, the Guardia di Finanza patrol boat V841, activated by the Cagliari ROAN, and the Fire Brigade patrol boat R13.
At the same time, given the shallow waters in the area where the swimmers were to be rescued, personnel from the Villasimius Local Maritime Office were called to divert the GC B 170 dinghy and several private vessels to the area to reach the swimmers who had fallen into the sea. Additionally, the Coast Guard helicopter Nemo 11/15 was called to intervene directly in the event of any critical situations, using the rescue helicopter that can be hoisted to the rescue site, and to provide detailed information from a complete and detailed view from above.
The Coast Guard SAR patrol boat CP 320 has been appointed as the coordinating unit for all vessels employed in sea rescue.
The rubber dinghies that intervened close to the coast recovered a total of 142 swimmers, of which the first 39 (16 men, 19 women and 4 minors) were transferred to the Guardia di Finanza patrol boat V841 and the remaining 102 (48 men, 42 women and 12 minors) to the Coast Guard patrol boat CP 320 .
The rescued people were disembarked at the small port of Villasimius and the 118 emergency service was called to check on a pregnant woman who had previously been on board the Guardia di Finanza patrol boat.
Rescue operations ceased at 8:15 PM, following the last overflight of the Coast Guard aircraft – Nemo 11/15 – which declared the area free of swimmers.
The Maritime Director and Commander of the Port Authority of Cagliari, Giovanni Stella, was in direct contact with the Mayor of Villasimius, Gianluca Dessì , throughout all phases of the rescue operations.