A man who saved two youngsters from the dangerous waters at Flatts over the weekend has spoken about the dramatic rescue mission.

Chris Caponigro battled through the swirling currents in a tiny row-boat in order to bring the 12-year-old girl ashore, together with a 15-year-old boy who was swimming to help.

The self-effacing Smith?s parish man told yesterday that he?s anxious to ?downplay? his role, declaring: ?I?m just so happy it was a good outcome. I?m so glad she?s OK.?

He also joined the Police in issuing a plea to children who have continued to swim at the site of the near-tragedy to pay more heed to their safety. reported earlier this week how the girl slipped into the water at the dock opposite the Bermuda Aquarium on Sunday evening. She was overcome by the strong current in the inlet which swept her out into Harrington Sound. The 15-year-old boy then jumped into the water to save her.

Mr. Caponigro, 35, lives at Palmetto Gardens near the scene of the incident. He was cleaning up after dinner when his wife Patricia spotted the crisis from the patio.

?She came running in with such alarm that I knew something bad was happening. She said a child was in the water screaming for help. My wife and I commandeered a rubber boat from a neighbour and I went out to grab her. She was so far out in the Sound ? at least 500 yards ? and I had no idea how she got there,? he said.

?I saw another person swimming out there and I yelled at the girl to hang tight. She was bobbing around and screaming. She had a good set of lungs on her and was doing well. I was just hoping she?d stay afloat. I went out and grabbed her and she weighed like 30 pounds so it was easy to get her into the boat. She was hysterical and I tried to calm her down. She was very scared and said all her friends had been jumping off the bridge and she had fallen.?

Mr. Caponigro then picked up the boy who had been swimming out to rescue the youngster, and managed to beat the strong currents to row the five-foot inflatable boat back to shore where staff from the Police fire and ambulance services had arrived. The girl was taken to hospital by ambulance, but was found to be in good health.

Mr. Caponigro, who works at Platinum Underwriters, said of his thoughts during the 20-minute drama: ?It was more like a task ? something I just had to go and do. The first thing in my mind was ?wow, she?s far out and I just hope I can get to her in time.? It was a pretty desperate situation.?

The reluctant hero has only told a couple of people about his involvement in the rescue, explaining ?I just really want to keep things low-key.? He doesn?t know the names of the youngsters he helped ? and the Police have not made them public ? but he said of the brave boy who swam out to help: ?What a great effort. You don?t want to encourage people to jump into rushing waters but he did and he swam hard. He was about midway to her when I got there ? he made a valiant effort.?

Mr. Caponigro was dismayed to see youngsters jumping into the water from the same bridge just a day after the near-drowning. ?I just want to emphasise to the kids that there are so many beautiful beaches in Bermuda to go swimming. They should stick to them,? he said.

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines also issued a warning. ?Parents should be mindful at all times of where their children are, particularly in and around large bodies of water. In this case, the Flatts area is a perennial problem and parents should be wary that that specific point is a danger to swimmers. Our advice is that when children are going to the beach or anywhere else to swim, they should be accompanied by an adult who can swim and is able to save their life if necessary,? he said.