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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1981
LIFE GUARDS SAVED 1 036 IN 1980
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ONE THOUSAND AND THIRTY-SIX LIVES WERE SAVED IN 1980 BY HONG KONG LIFE GUARDS, WHO INCLUDE FISHERMEN, THE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES, MR JOHN RIDDELL-SWAN, SAID TODAY.
THIS EFFORT, COLLECTIVELY, SHOWED ALSO THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE BECOMING MORE CIVIC-MINDED AND WILLING TO PUT SELF-SACRIFICE ABOVE SELF-INTEREST, MR RIDDELL-SWAN TOLD MEMBERS OF THE HONG KONG LIFE GUARD CLUB AT A PRESENTATION CEREMONY THIS AFTERNOON OF RESCUE-STAR+ AWARDS BY THE CLUB FOR THE LIFE-SAVING EFFORTS OF ITS MEMBERS.
MR RIDDELL-SWAN SAID THAT SINCE 1962 THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT HAD WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CLUB TO PROMOTE LIFE-SAVING OF FISHERMEN AT SEA. NOW FISHERMEN WERE REGULARLY AMONG RECIPIENTS OF THE RESCUE STAR+,
+THESE AWARDS ARE MADE BY THE CLUB IN RECOGNITION OF THE GALLANTRY OF THE INDIVIDUAL RECIPIENTS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME COLLECTIVELY THEY SIGNIFY AN INCREASED CIVIC-MINDEDNESS IN THE COMMUNITY AND A WILLINGNESS TO PUT SELF-SACRIFICE ABOVE SELF-INTEREST, HE SAID.
FOURTEEN FISHERMEN WERE AMONG THE 44 PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED THE RESCUE STAR THIS YEAR.
MR RIDDELL-SWAN PAID TRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF THE CLUB FOR ITS ROLE IN PROVIDING LIFE-SAVING SERVICE TO SWIMMERS AT SWIMMING POOLS, BATHING BEACHES AND LAUNCH PARTIES.
LAST YEAR 10 596 LIFE GUARDS PERFORMED PATROL DUTIES REGULARLY AND AT SPECIAL EVENTS.
+THE SUCCESS OF THESE PATROLS CAN BE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF LIVES SAVED WHICH DURING THE YEAR AMOUNTED TO A TOTAL OF 1 036. THIS BRINGS THE GRAND TOTAL OF LIVES SAVED TO OVER 13 500 SINCE THE CLUB WAS FORMED IN 1956, HE SAID.
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