Manjeet Singh, 29, from Chhina village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, had his first training session to become a truck driver at Fresno in California on the day of the tragedy.
Manjeet Singh
A29-year-old
Indian-origin Sikh man lost his life after he jumped into Kings river,
California to rescue three children who were swept away in the water.
Accoding to a
CNN report, two eight-year-old girls and a 10-year-old boy were playing in the
Kings River on Wednesday when they were pulled under a bridge by the current.
Manjeet Singh,
who was standing on the bank, decided to jump in when he saw the kids struggling
in water.
"He didn't
know them, but just saw them needing help so he jumped in," Reedley Police
Department commander Mark Ediger was quoted as saying by CNN.
While two
children were pulled out safely, one of the eight-year-old girls has pulled out
after remaining underwater for about 15 minutes. She was rushed to the hospital
were her condition is said to be critical. The other two children are safe and
unharmed.
Unfortunately, Singh drowned while trying to save the children. His body was found underwater after about 40 minutes of search.’
The sacrifice of the Sikh youngster is widely being hailed in the US and India with religious, social and political leaders paying tribute on their social media handles.
According to US media reports, two children were brought to shore unharmed, but one of the girls was underwater for nearly 15 minutes. She was taken to Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno and as of Friday remained in a critical condition and on life support.
SON OF A FARMER,
HE WENT TO US TWO YEARS AGO
Manjeet was the
youngest son of Gurbax Singh, a farmer and former block samiti member at Chhina
village in Gurdaspur district. The family struggled to send him abroad two
years ago.
“There is no
bigger sacrifice than to lay down one’s life for saving others,” said Panthdeep
Singh, the sarpanch of the village.
“Manjeet went to
the US two years ago. He was at Fresno to learn truck driving. He had his first
training session to become a truck driver on the day of the tragedy. Our entire
village salutes him for his sacrifice,” the sarpanch said.
