A man from Jiangxi province was saved after being stranded at sea in Pingtan, Fujian province on Aug 3, local media reported.

The man was washed away by strong waves when he was swimming near the Longfengtou beach at around 10 am.

A local motorboat club cooperated with police in the rescue. They reached the man, who was exhaustedly grasping a reef, about four kilometers away from the beach.

The motorboat club has saved six drowning people since it was set up in July last year. It has three motorboats and four experienced instructors.

Their goal is to build a motorboat center in Pingtan and help Pingtan become an international tourist destination, according to Lin Xumin, founder of the club.

Lin didn’t think of using motorboats for maritime rescue until the first case came up on July 10, 2014, when they saved a drowning man near Hongyan Villa.

Following the incident, the club bought life vests, buoys and life lines for similar cases.

Compared with fishing boats, the lighter motorboat moves faster and is more adaptive to water with complicated conditions, said Lin.

“Time is money at sea. We will continue to guard the safety of the sea in Pingtan.”

A motorboat patrols the sea in Pingtan, Fujian province. [Photo/ptnet.cn]