€300K raised for Polish man who drowned saving children off Dutch coast

A crowdfunding campaign set up on Thursday to cover the repatriation and funeral costs of Marcin Kolczynski had raised nearly 300 thousand euros by Sunday morning. The 37-year-old Polish man drowned a week ago, rescuing three children off the coast at Julianadorp in Noord-Holland.

Kolczynski is survived by a wife and three young children in Poland. His wife previously told Dutch media that she was on the phone with him just before he died. During the conversation he said: "Wait a minute, I see children in the sea. I think something is wrong." Then he hung up. The next call his wife, Monika, received was a few hours later to inform her that he had died.

"This really touches me," said campaign organizer Martina Janasz. "Also that so many people are now donating money for his wife and three young children."

About 15,800 people have contributed money to help Kolczynski's family cover his funeral costs, leaving messages of support on the crowdfunding page. "You can only have respect for someone who does something like that for other people without thinking. And supporting his family with a small donation can hopefully ease the suffering a little bit," one donor wrote.

Another: "I hope to never find myself in a situation to have to make such a decision, but if I ever come to stand in front of such a choice then I hope that I can be as brave and strong as this amazing Polish Mr. Kolczynski. What a HERO!!!"

As of 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, the campaign had raised a total of 294,989 euros from 9,815 donors. The highest single donation equaled three thousand euros.