A Leicestershire restaurant owner has been hailed a hero after rescuing a woman from her submerged car. Cimi Kazazi’s early morning rescue came hours before emergency services declared a major incident across the county.
The pub owner, who runs The Italian Greyhound pub restaurant in Great Glen, near Market Harborough, was first alerted to the severe flooding at around 5am this morning (Monday, January 6) when a neighbour called to warn him about rising water levels at the pub. Mr Kazazi said the flood water was “more than a metre deep,” with the pub’s beer garden tables completely submerged.
Neighbours then spotted a woman struggling in her submerged car and alerted Mr Kazazi who rushed to her aid. The 50-year-old was filmed carrying out the dramatic rescue as he waded through “completely freezing” water to help the stranded driver.
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Mr Kazazi said the flood water was “more than a metre deep
(Image: Cimi Kazazi)
Mr Kazazi’s brave actions helped bring the 63-year-old driver out from her vehicle and into the safety of pub. Despite being surrounded by heaters, Mr Kazazi said it was so cold that the rescued woman continued shaking for several hours after her ordeal.
“She said if I stayed there another 15 minutes she would have died, she would have passed out,” Mr Kazazi told LeicestershireLive. “The water was completely freezing – worse than Iceland, worse than Siberia. She was very shaky and had her phone in her hand. I said forget about everything else in the car – don’t worry about anything, let everything go.”
According to Mr Kazazi, fire crews were later seen at the top of the village with boats checking vehicles for trapped people. The pub owner said this flooding was worse than previous incidents in January and October last year, with locals telling him it was the worst since the 1960s.
Mr Kazazi waded through what he described as ‘completely freezing’ water
(Image: Yanela Kazazi)
Mr Kazazi’s actions have seen him labelled a hero by many online, but he remains very modest. He said: “I feel great that I did something so beautiful. Despite being very painful to see my business completely paralyzed, I’m very satisfied that I did something great.”
The restaurant owner also urged others to avoid driving through flood water, saying: “Life is more important than anything else in the world. If you can avoid these kind of things, yes, but if you see someone struggling or in danger of life, then there is no question.”
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