Westland mayor presents rescue medal to 's-Gravenzande man

Zakaria Afassi, who lives in 's-Gravenzande, received a silver medal from the Koninklijke Maatschappij tot Redding van Drenkelingen (KMRD), the royal society for the rescue of drowning people, for saving two men from a car in the water. Westland mayor Bouke Arends presented it on Wednesday.

At about 1.15am on 4 July, a car left the Naaldwijkseweg (N467) and ended up upside down in the water. Afassi was driving home from a company outing. He had recently moved to the area and did not know the road well, so he was paying extra attention. He stopped and found the engine still running.

He could not get the side doors open, but managed to open the boot in the dark and pulled both men out of the car.

“At a time when every second counts, Zakaria chose to act,” Arends said. “He saved two young lives and is an example to others.”

Afassi said he appreciates the recognition. “But the reason I helped was of course not to get a medal,” he said. He hopes the award encourages others to help.

Afassi later invited the two men to his home to talk through what had happened.