When Zaid Anfoka and his best friend Jack Lees spotted three women struggling in a deadly rip tide off a beach in south-west England, the pair sprang into action.
They managed to save all three, but Jack, 20, died. The two men have now been recognised for their heroism and Zaid, 21, has spoken about their actions that day and the loss of his friend.
The Jordanian law student told The National that as strong swimmers and surfers they knew they needed to help the women, but their rescue took more than 40 minutes because of the dangerous current.
At one point he turned to Jack to ask if he was OK, but when his friend replied “no” he began to panic. He realised the situation was turning against them.
Monstrous seas
The students were among a group of 60 taking part in Bristol University’s wild swimming society camping trip to Bude, Cornwall, in June 2024.
Jack and Zaid had been on nearby Northcott Mouth beach with other students when they noticed the tide turning and the current switching. They spotted three young women in deeper water and shouted to them to swim ashore to avoid the rip currents, but they could not be heard above the sound of crashing waves.
The women were beginning to struggle, so Zaid and Jack swam out to rescue them. They reached two of them and Jack helped Zaid pull them away from the rip tide, allowing Zaid to take both to safety amid the treacherous sea conditions.
“We went into the water and managed to help two of them out but the third one, Daisy, was being pulled further out into the sea so we went out to help her,” Zaid said. “The waves were monstrous and the rip tide kept pulling us out to sea.”
Shortly after Jack said he was not OK, Zaid became separated from them, so he swam ashore to get his surfboard.
“But I underestimated how far the current had pulled us out, so I took quite a while to get back to the beach then back to the scene,” he said.
“I also lost my glasses in the water so I could not see very well. Everyone on shore was telling me that it was too dangerous for me to go back out there.”
Jack had stayed with Daisy for about 40 minutes trying to get her out of the rip tide but its intensity meant they could not get on to their backs and float.
Eventually she escaped the current's grip and was able to swim ashore. But then a wave knocked Jack under the water and he was taken out by the rip tide.
When Zaid realised Jack was missing, he went back out to sea with his surfboard, only returning to shore when instructed to do so by the members of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).
Courage without question
Zaid immediately went to comfort Daisy. “She was very, very traumatised. I just held her in my arms and repeated that ‘it’s not your fault’.
“Jack was the greatest man I have ever known,” he added. “He was my best friend. He acted heroically without a second thought and his loss has been the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to deal with.”
Jack’s body washed ashore a fortnight later and at an inquest last year the coroner recorded a death by misadventure.
During the hearing, Jack’s mother, Dr Dawn Lees, raised safety questions over the training given to the university’s wild swimming society, particularly over information on rip tides.
“Jack never had the 21st birthday party he had been planning in our garden. Instead of birthday cards for him we received condolences,” she said.
“I want him to be remembered for the three girls who would likely be dead if it was not for him. Jack was a gentleman in life and as shown in his death too.”
Bristol University Student Union chief executive Ben Pilling told the inquest that while the trips had been run successfully for three years, they had now been stopped and open coastal water events were no longer allowed.
Jordan’s pride
Jordan’s ambassador to Britain, Manar Dabbas, attended the Royal Humane Society's charity awards ceremony in central London where Jack received a posthumous medal.
Mr Dabbas told The National that while the events “were profoundly tragic”, Zaid had “demonstrated a level of courage that fills all Jordanians with immense pride”.
“Zaid is one of those Jordanians who would step up without hesitation to offer help to those who were in desperate need,” he added. “I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jack, and may it bring them solace that his heroic actions were for a noble cause.”
Lt Col Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said the two men's courage was “very high” given the dangers they faced and being exposed to the perils of rip tides for a long time, which merited the silver award, the highest for ordinary people in the saving of lives.
The society was formed in 1774 and originally gave awards to those who had rescued people from the River Thames. It has expanded to several Commonwealth counties and Lt Col Chapman suggested it could be started in the Middle East. “It's a very important region and there will no doubt be acts of heroism that should be acknowledged, as we have seen with Zaid,” he said.
