Koratty/ Alappuzha: When her little sister tumbled into the murky canal waters, Aadya could only scream in terror. Hearing her cries, Aarav, a class two student nearby, plunged into the water without hesitation. He grabbed hold of the child, but getting her safely to shore was no easy task.

“Give me a hand!” Aarav shouted to his friend Aadav, a class four student, who had initially frozen in shock. Quickly regaining his composure, Aadav rushed to assist. Together, the boys pulled Anvi safely to the shore and, using rescue techniques taught by the fire force at school, placed her upside down on a folded arm and administered first aid. When Anvi vomited water, a sign that life was returning, the young rescuers breathed a sigh of relief. Aarav and Aadav, who are also Anvi’s neighbours, then carried her safely home.

The incident began to unfold when Anvi’s older sister, an LKG student at Panchayat LP School, took her to the canal banks near the Chunakkara paddy fields without their mother’s knowledge. Anvi had climbed down near a bridge to watch small fish from a stone when she slipped into the water, her head becoming stuck in the sludge and only her legs visible above the surface. Aadya’s screams alerted Aarav and Aadav, who were sitting on the bridge’s culvert.

Aarav Mohanan, a student at Panchayat LP School, acted immediately, disregarding his own safety. Aadav drew on the rescue lessons the boys had learned from a recent fire force demonstration on preventing drowning. Their quick thinking and bravery saved a precious life.

Aadya and four-and-a-half-year-old Anvi are the daughters of Jishnudev of Chunakkara Paakkatty and his wife Bindya. Aarav is the son of Mohanan of Cheranallor and Anitha of Chunakkara Koottala, while Aadav is the son of Varanattu Praveen and Leena.