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The children rescued is pictured on the left and the body of the man who rescued her is in the middle surrounded by people. Photo from The Daily Mail
It has been verified that 32-year-old Plamen Petkov, a Bulgarian, has died saving the life of a British child on the beach at West Wittering, West Sussex.
Petkov is a resident of Sutton, Surrey, UK, Bulgarian and British media reported Tuesday, a day after the initial report that a hero, whose identity was not immediately revealed, had sacrificed his life to save a young child.
The incident occurred on May 27. For a while, British media termed Petkov "Hero X".
Witnesses said Petkov was at the beach with a girl. He plunged into the water when he saw a four-year-old being swept out to sea on an inflatable boat.
He managed to pass the child to other beachgoers but was dragged under just five yards from the shore by powerful currents and drowned. Lifeguards' efforts to revive the man were in vain.
"He died a hero. It was the ultimate sacrifice," one witness told The Sun.
Natasha's dad Ben, 52, also on the beach, said: "I really admire him for what he did."
Richard Pike, who saw Saturday's tragedy from his beach hut, said: "The man was in the red flag area where there is a strong current.
"He was way beyond the lifeguard patrolled area." Lawyer Richard, 50, added: "The lifeguards gave him CPR for 40 minutes before the air ambulance turned up but they couldn't resuscitate him."
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