Man risks his life to free two men from a car sinking in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Zakaria rescued two motorists trapped in a car that had overturned into the water in the middle of the night. His particularly risky intervention, as the cabin began to fill with water, earned him a silver medal presented on October 28. He recalls the few minutes that could have cost two lives.
On the night of July 3-4, 2026, at around 1:15 a.m., Zakaria was returning from an outing with his colleagues when he spotted a car overturned in the water along the N467 road, near ’s-Gravenzande. Having lived in the area for just three weeks, he was still unfamiliar with the roads and extra cautious behind the wheel. As he approached the crashed vehicle, he heard voices inside.
On Bladi.net : Delivery driver saves man from drowning, then vanishes; family finds him three months later
Two men were trapped in the cabin, with the wheels in the air, while the engine was still running. Zakaria climbed onto the car and asked them to switch off the ignition, fearing they might suffocate. The engine eventually stopped on its own.
The doors could not be opened. With no hammer to break a window, he looked for another way in and managed to unlock the trunk. He climbed onto it to hold it open, but water immediately poured into the cabin.
“It was quite frightening. At that point, you know there really isn’t much time left,” he told the Dutch daily AD.
One of the two men went under the water before managing to get out through the rear of the vehicle. He and Zakaria then helped the second occupant escape. A witness alerted emergency services. The two survivors were taken to hospital. According to Zakaria, the rescue took less than five minutes.
It was only after firefighters, paramedics and police arrived that he realized how serious the situation had been. Police later confirmed that the two men had been at risk of dying. One of them had broken ribs.
A reunion and a medal
The very next day, Zakaria invited the two men to his home. They told him they had lost control of their car on a bend and had not immediately realized it had overturned. By the time they understood what had happened, they had only a small pocket of air left to breathe.
The rescue continues to affect him. For several weeks, every time he passed the crash site, it brought that night back to mind. He had in fact slept barely two hours before returning to work the day after the incident.
On October 28, Westland Mayor Bouke Arends presented him with a silver medal on behalf of the Royal Dutch Society for the Rescue of Drowned People (KMRD). In an official statement, the municipality praised his intervention before emergency services arrived.
Zakaria appreciates the recognition, but is not seeking honors. Above all, he hopes his medal will encourage others to step in when a life is in danger. His advice to motorists boils down to two words: “Drive carefully.”
