Moroccan Man Hailed as Hero for Rescue, Faces Drug Trafficking Charges

"A man released on bail saves a woman from drowning in Puerto Banús," headlines the website Diariosur. And indeed, El Hossain El Haddad was working for the head of a gang (unbeknownst to him, he says). On this subject, the same source states: "Hossain explains that he was accused of drug trafficking after being arrested at the same time as the man for whom he was working, a disabled man in his care who turned out to be the head of a drug gang". It’s true that a story like that doesn’t make itself up.

On the other hand, the heroic act suffers no ambiguity. El Hossain El Haddad did indeed save an elderly woman from drowning. The latter had fallen into the water in the Puerto Banus marina, in Marbella, Spain, had no ladder to help her climb back up and was starting to drown because she was having trouble staying afloat. That’s when El Haddad, passing by, and with almost no hesitation, undressed and went to her rescue. He managed to bring her to the deck of a boat and the rescue services arrived a few minutes later.

It should be noted that there were many people on the marina but only El Hossain assisted this person in danger. Regarding the time it took him to undress (a possible subject of criticism), El Haddad said: "Since I’m a bit chubby, I thought the clothes would get heavy when I got wet and wouldn’t let me move well".

The site specifies that his boss died in prison and that it was his wife who paid the bail so that he could be released. He must appear before the judge on the 1st and 15th of each month until the day of the trial.