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Volleyballers, rescued man reunite for thank you party

Reunited with this rescuers: Pictured left to right: Ariel Mierzejewski, Richard Madeiros, Rama Gupta, Ian Gouthro, Darren Maksymetz and Craig Lussier.

An Indian waiter who was rescued from drowning was reunited with the beach volleyball team that saved his life.Rama Gupta, who has made a complete recovery from his ordeal at Horseshoe Beach on August 27, said: “I am very happy and very thankful.”He helped serve up beer and barbecue food to the King of the Beach League at their end of season party back at Horseshoe Bay on Saturday — and took the opportunity to thank them all.Mr Gupta, 36, from Mumbai City, was pulled out to sea by a large wave when swimming with friends in the rough surf.He was pulled underwater and lost consciousness, but members of the volleyball league plunged into the water to help him.They found him on the ocean floor and pulled him back to shore. Mr Gupta had no heartbeat and was not breathing, so they gave him CPR until an ambulance came.Ariel Mierzejewski, a nurse who performed CPR on Mr Gupta said: “It’s a happy and exhilarating feeling to see him here today. I have never been prouder of a group of guys.”Mr Mierzejewski, 36, from Warwick, added: “They were completely selfless and there was no regard for their own safety.”Richard Madeiros, 34, from Flatts, helped swim Mr Gupta in to shore.He said: “It’s kind of surreal to see him because when we pulled him out of the water I thought he was dead.“He was not breathing and had no heartbeat. It’s pretty amazing what happens when a group of guys get together, what they can achieve.”Craig Lussier ran up to the road to greet the ambulance that raced Mr Gupta to hospital after the accident.He said of the team’s reunion with Mr Gupta: “It was completely selfless of the guys who ran in.”The team said they also wanted to highlight the role of various other members who could not be present for the party yesterday, including Adam Birch, who found Mr Gupta on the ocean floor, Chris Merritt, who helped swim him in, Troy Dort and Mark Thorne.Amy Chan, co-vice-president of the Bermuda Volleyball Association said: “On behalf of the BVA, I would like to say that we are so proud of all the guys.”Mr Gupta is assistant manager at Indigo restaurant in Flatts. The thank-you party was catered by the Four Star restaurant group, which runs Indigo, as a gesture of thanks.