HP NEWS SERVICE
Mawkyrwat, Jul 2: The presence of two boys at a deserted stretch of a rivulet on June 30 is perhaps the only thing that saved a lone angler from a watery grave.
This incident happened near Mawlangwir village under South West Khasi Hills district.
“We were fishing and noticed another man higher upstream who was also casting for fish. We did not pay much attention to him but somehow noticed when he suddenly fell into the water,” the two boys, Olphan Marweiñ and Banïaiskhem Marweiñ said today.
They also said that they did not make much of this as it is common for anglers to lose their footing while casting from the slippery banks of a water body.
“However we soon realised that he was not surfacing for air and rushed to his aid,” they said.
Upon reaching the spot where the man had fallen into the rivulet, the boys realised that in spite of their combined efforts, they did not have the strength to lift the man out of the water and thus they started dragging him to the shore.
“As soon as we made sure that he was out of the water, one of us rushed to the village to inform the elders there about the incident,” the boys said while adding that with the arrival of the elders who rushed to the spot, the man regained consciousness and was saved.
Lauding the bravery of the boys, their parents expressed their joy to know that they had rushed to the aid of the angler without a moment of hesitation.
“If they don’t help people in dire need, who will they help,” the parents said.
Meanwhile, the family members of the angler who has been identified as 46-year-old Pynskhembor Marweiñ, have expressed deep gratitude to the two boys who rushed to the aid of their kin in need.
“We can never repay them and the only thing that we can give them is our heartfelt gratitude and our hope that they will continue to help whenever they come across people who are in need,” Pynskhembor’s family members said.
