Society

Police officers Elke and Cynthia from Antwerp reacted particularly alert when, while on vacation in Calpé, Spain, they suddenly saw a man choking on a piece of meat during dinner. 

Seventy-year-old Luc was enjoying his dinner at The Sailor restaurant in Calpé one evening in November when things went wrong. He choked on a piece of meat and threatened to suffocate. Neighborhood officer at the Antwerp North police zone Elke and her wife Cynthia, chief inspector with the Antwerp police zone, happened to be dining in that same restaurant and didn't hesitate for a second to go and help their compatriot. They first tried the heimlich hold, and when that was unsuccessful and the man lost consciousness, they switched to CPR. In Het Nieuwsblad, all three now tell their story. 

“We put him on the ground and I stuck my finger down his throat until I found a piece of meat. But he still looked blue,” Elke tells of the eventful evening in Het Nieuwsblad. “I could no longer feel a pulse and Cynthia started chest compressions. I then took over and she felt down his throat again and found a second piece of flesh. Once that was out, he regained color. The owner of the restaurant had immediately called the ambulance, but it took twenty minutes,” the brave Belgians tell their story. Luc is now well again and is immensely grateful to his two rescuers.

(SR for Tagtik/Source: Het Nieuwsblad/Illustration picture: Photo by Andri Klopfenstein on Unsplash)