A 29-year-old Gurdaspur-origin Sikh man lost his life after he jumped into Kings river, California to rescue three children who were swept away in the water.
Going by the reports of a media channel, 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 trio struggling in the water.
"He didn't know them, but just saw them needing help so he jumped in. He removed his turban and attempted to use it as a rope to pull the children in but was quickly pulled under himself. He went in to try and help them and, unfortunately, went underwater fairly quickly and never came back up,” Reedley police commander Marc Ediger was quoted as saying by a media channel.
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 where 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.
Just last week, Manjeet Singh was at Reedley Beach cooling off and having a good time. He even made a TikTok video with his friends on July 4 from the river.
Singh moved to Fresno two months ago and was loving life in the Central Valley.
His family says he was the cautious person, who only waded in water no deeper than his thigh.
"He told us - 'Don't play with the water. It's very dangerous'," said family friend Gurpreet Singh.
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.
Notably, 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.
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Describing some of the traits of the brave Sikh, Manjeet, sarpanch added, "He was kindhearted and keen to serve humanity. During the Covid-19 lockdown, he extended financial help to needy families in the Dera Baba Nanak area. Besides, he sent donations for the village’s development. He would ask us not to disclose his name as a donor."
The sarpanch urged the government to help bring back his body to India so that his family could see their brave son one last time and perform the last rites. “It is as much an honor as being killed at war,” he said.
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