Wayanad: A young mother nearly lost her son when the young one jumped into the lake in a bid to reach out to family members who were rowing a boat at Pookkode lake here.

The incident that took place on Monday came to light when the CCTV visuals of the child jumping into the lake and a youth saving the child instantly went viral on social media on Wednesday.

The visuals show the mother holding the child, standing at the boat bay, waving her hands at the family members who were rowing a boat in the lake. Suddenly, the child was seen trying to free his hand from his mother's grip and leapt into the lake. A youth, who was present at the spot, instantly jumped into the water and saved the child from the water body estimated to be 12 feet deep.

Though attempts made by Onmanorama to identify the family failed, the hero who saved the boy has been identified as K T Shafeer, a District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) staffer at Pookkode lake. A native of Talippuzha near Pookkode, Shafeer was on duty at the boat bay. He is also a member of the Talippuzha branch committee of the CPM.

Speaking to Onmanorama, Shafeer said that he was shocked to see the child jumping into the lake, as he knew that the lake was more than 10 feet deep. "I don't know what happened to me at the moment", he said, adding that it was as if he were in a dream. "I jumped into the water, and in a moment, I had the child in my hand when his head came up. Soon, a helping hand came from the shore, to which I handed over the boy", he said.

The weeping mother and other family members thanked Shafeer profusely and left. He only knows that the family hails from Kozhikode.