‘Starfish’ move saves boy of 10 as he is swept out to sea

A BOY of 10 said he thought he was moments away from dying when he was swept out to sea on a day trip with his family.

Lifeboat crews believe Ravi Saini was saved by his use of the Float To Live “starfish” technique he learned while watching TV programmes about sea rescues.

Ravi told the RNLI team that pulled him from the water they had given him “a second chance to live” when he visited Scarborough lifeboat station to thank them.

The crew told the youngster he was “an inspiration” as they presented him with gifts and showed him round the base.

Ravi described how he was on a day trip from his home in Leeds with his father, Nathu Ram, 37, his mother, Puspa Devi, 34, and sister Muskan Saini, nine, on one of the hottest days of the year last week.

He said he was in the water with his father when he suddenly realised he was out of his depth and floating out into the resort’s South Bay.

“I realised I was floating and I was like ‘Help me, help me’,” Ravi said as he sat in the inshore lifeboat that came to pluck him from the sea.

He added: “My dad tried to come but the water was higher than him.”

He said he was thinking, “Is this really happening, is this the end of my life?”

But he said he was a fan of shows including the BBC documentary Saving Lives At Sea, which follows lifeboat crews across Britain.

This is how he knew the Float To Live technique, which he described as staying on your back, remaining calm and spreading out like a starfish.