Kerala - Kochi   

Honouring the rescuers

GOOD SAMARITANS: Nithin Joy receiving an award for bravery from P.K. Abdul Azis, Vice-Chancellor, Cochin University of Science and Technology, for saving a number of children in the Thattekkad boat tragedy. Looking on are his father Joy (extreme left ) and Xavier, who were also given the bravery award by Stallions International. - Photo: Vipinchandran

Nithin Joy, whose heroic deed helped save many lives during the Thattekkad boat tragedy, did not shy away from the cameras.

He was not afraid to rush to the aid of the children whom he saw cling onto pieces of wood and parts of the boat, said the Class VIII student of Mar Basil School, Kothamangalam.

When Nithin and his father, Joy, heard the distressed cries of children, they wasted no time in coming to their rescue. Nithin helped seven children aboard the fibre boat. He plunged into the river to prevent the small rescue boat from sinking and managed to push it ashore. It was a tough job indeed for a skinny 13-year-old.

The boy and his father along with Mangazha Shouru (Xavier) were honoured by the Stallions International Cabinet Committee in Kochi on Thursday.

At a function held at the Ernakulam Press Club, P.K. Abdul Azis, Vice-Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology, presented the awards comprising a memento and cash prize.

Mr. Joy said that they wished they could have saved many more lives. "There were few people around and there was no means of giving the rescued first aid. Some of them were breathing, but there was no one to resuscitate them," he said.

Xavier said the boat driver, recently arrested by the police, was one among the rescuers. Their names would be recommended for national and State awards, said committee president Johny Methippara.

Shyama Rajagopal

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