Even giving this sign the benefit of the doubt, if someone is actively drowning and you just call 911 and do nothing else then they will surely be dead by the time anyone from emergency services can make an appearance to help.
This does not mean you should also drown yourself trying to help them though. Ideally you throw them something long like a rope and tow them in to shore. If that’s not possible, throwing them anything that floats is a good secondary option. People who aren’t trained as lifeguards shouldn’t usually get in the water to try and save a drowning person though, that’s a very easy way to turn one dead body into two dead bodies. A drowning human is not a rational actor and they can and will also drown you trying (and failing) to save themselves.
Specifically in rescue swimmer training they will teach you to push the drowning person away if they grab onto you the wrong way, otherwise you will be drowning too. You basically need to force them into the right hold, because they are acting solely on survival reflexes and those entail grabbing something and pulling yourself up out of the water, which might sink whatever they are holding onto.
Even giving this sign the benefit of the doubt, if someone is actively drowning and you just call 911 and do nothing else then they will surely be dead by the time anyone from emergency services can make an appearance to help.
This does not mean you should also drown yourself trying to help them though. Ideally you throw them something long like a rope and tow them in to shore. If that’s not possible, throwing them anything that floats is a good secondary option. People who aren’t trained as lifeguards shouldn’t usually get in the water to try and save a drowning person though, that’s a very easy way to turn one dead body into two dead bodies. A drowning human is not a rational actor and they can and will also drown you trying (and failing) to save themselves.
Specifically in rescue swimmer training they will teach you to push the drowning person away if they grab onto you the wrong way, otherwise you will be drowning too. You basically need to force them into the right hold, because they are acting solely on survival reflexes and those entail grabbing something and pulling yourself up out of the water, which might sink whatever they are holding onto.