A 32-year-old Eritrean man died this evening after he rescued a Frenchman who found himself in difficulties in Paradise Bay.

The man Ashih Tekleab Haile, believed to be a Paradise Bay Hotel employee, was pulled out of the water by an AFM helicopter crew and flown to Mater Dei Hospital, where efforts to save him proved unsuccessful.

Earlier Mr Haile and a Frenchman managed to rescue another Frenchman from the rough seas.

The police said the two men managed to carry the rescued man to a jetty, but they were then pulled out to sea by the waves.

Mr Haile was found face down in the water and efforts to save him failed.

The other Frenchman was rescued by a patrol boat after a search. He was exhausted and needed medical assistance.

In Bugibba earlier in the afternoon, a beach cleaner distinguished himself when he managed to save two women who drifted out to sea on inflatable beach mattresses (lilos) and waved for help. The police and the AFM had already been alerted to the case.

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