A 26-year old army officer from Pune was rescued from drowning by the coast guard at a South Goa beach on Thursday.

The army officer is believed to have slipped off the rocks and fallen into the choppy sea at Cabo de Rama beach. Lifeguards could not use their jet skis to save him owing to the rocky terrain and high-intensity waves.

A call was made to the coast guard, who were able to airlift the unnamed officer to the Navy Hospital INHS Jeevanti.

“We received a call from the police at around 13.30 p.m. Within no time, our chopper was in the air and within ten minutes, it was able to retrieve the person from the sea,” DIG Himanshu Nautiyal told Hindustan Times.

Goa’s beaches are dangerous during the rains, with high waves and slippery rocks. A notification earlier in the week had announced the names of several beaches that were out of bounds for swimming.