Tears flowed as the mother of Christon Battersby met the two women who assisted in saving her son’s life after a water incident at Pigeon Point, Tobago, on Saturday. The emotional mother embraced Sarah Persson of Sweden and Anna Hospedales of Canada, and could be heard saying, “I love you; I love you.”

In an interview with The Express on Wednesday, Persson and Hospedales expressed their sadness and frustration over the incident. Persson recounted the traumatic experience, citing a lack of urgency by the lifeguards on duty.

While the two foreign nationals, who are vacationing in Tobago, are grateful for the recognition, they are hoping that urgent changes will be made to address what they described as a slow response in an emergency.