In January this year, an Indian-origin construction worker became a hero in Romania after risking his own life to save a five-year-old girl who fell through the ice of a frozen lake. This act that has earned him the title of honorary citizen in the city of Craiova.
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47-year-old Vipan Kumar jumped into the freezing waters of a lake in Craiova, a city in Romania, after spotting the child struggling in the water.
Recalling the dramatic rescue, Kumar told Digi24 television station: “I was on a walk, with a friend of mine. I saw the little girl in the water, then I jumped immediately. The water was very cold; everything happened very quickly.”
The Indian worker said there was little time to think before acting.
“I just tried to get her out of the water, that’s all I thought about. The little girl was very brave,” Kumar said.
Images of the rescue went firal on social media. Footage showed Kumar making his way across the ice on a sleigh towards the stranded child before the ice beneath him gave way. He managed to grab the girl's arm and hold her above the freezing water until emergency teams arrived.
Both Kumar and the child were pulled from the lake and taken to hospital suffering from hypothermic shock. They were in stable condition.
