In Eindhoven, the Netherlands, a 34-year-old man living in an asylum seekers’ centre saved a woman whose car slid into a canal. According to Eindhovens Dagblad, the man is Dzmitry Viarbitski, a citizen of Belarus residing at the refugee centre on Kanaaldijk-Zuid.
On the morning of 9 January, he went shopping with a friend. As they approached the Praxis store, they saw a car in the water. The woman inside had opened a window and was loudly calling for help.
Dzmitry did not hesitate — he emptied his pockets, handed his belongings to his friend and jumped into the icy water. He managed to push the car toward the opposite bank — Kanaaldijk-Noord — where, together with bystanders, he helped the woman climb out of the vehicle. A few minutes later, police and emergency services arrived.
“First they helped the woman get out of the car onto the shore, and then me,” he said.
The woman was examined by paramedics in an ambulance but did not require hospitalisation. Dzmitry received medical assistance at a clinic, after which police took him back to the accommodation centre where he lives. According to him, he has not seen or spoken with the rescued woman since.
“I don’t know where I found the strength — I just did it,” he told reporters. “I didn’t even know I was such a good swimmer.”
“I feel like a hero,” he said when asked. “But not Superman or Batman. Those are movie characters. For me, a hero is anyone who helps other people.”
According to preliminary information, the woman was following her navigation system, turned too early near the bridge at Tongelresestraat and drove into the canal.
The day after the incident, the Ouderen Appèl-Hart voor Eindhoven party, represented on the municipal council, proposed that the mayor and council members nominate Viarbitski for official recognition for his “heroic act”.
