In a heroic act, an 18-year-old youth saved two children from drowning in the Sidhwan Canal on Monday.

Jatinder Kumar, a small-time junk dealer, was passing by the canal on his rickshaw in the morning when he spotted a gathering on the banks of the canal looking at two children gasping for breath in the water.

Kumar lost no time and immediately jumped into the canal. “I did not have any time to think. When I saw the children going deeper and deeper into the water, I knew there was very little time to save them. So I jumped even before I could hand over my wallet to someone,” he said.

Satinder Kumar (12) and Sanjay Kumar (12) of New Prem Nagar locality had come to the canal along with two other boys for a bath. While the other two remained at the bank, Satinder and Sanjay jumped into the water and were soon caught in the strong water current. They were swept about 100 metres downstream when they were spotted by the passersby.

“The boys were struggling to get out of the water, but the current was sweeping them downstream. One person jumped into the water as others gathered at the spot. Jatinder also jumped at the same time and put in a brave effort to save the children. He deserves a bravery award for this,” said an eyewitness.

Narrating the incident, Sanjay and Satinder said they did not know how to swim and had gone there only to experiment with the water. “We jumped without realising that we could be drowned,” the duo said while expressing gratitude to their saviour.

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