A Sikh man was hailed as a hero after he used his turban to save a teenage girl from drowning.  Avtar Hothi, a 65-year-old farmer from Kamloops, British Columbia, used his turban to save the girl who had fallen into the cold waters of North Thompson River close to his farm.

Hothi and his son Paul were working at their family farm in Heffley Creek, in the north side of Kamloops on last Saturday. Suddenly they heard the cries and rushed to the riverbank and saw a young girl was struggling to stay afloat in the strong current.  

Paul stated, “We were trying to look around for branches, and he just sprung to action, took off his turban right away, threw it in the water and pulled her to shore.” He said the girl was about 14 or 15-years-old. Paul said he does not know how she fell into the river, but stated that the water is  very cold this time of year. He added, “she was just in shock at the moment we pulled her out of the water. She was freezing basically.(We) quickly covered her up with a blanket to warm her up.” His father drove the girl back to her grandmother’s house a few minutes from their farm.

Paul informed, “We used his turban as a rope because it would have been a lot harder just to pull someone up off shore.” Someone brought a blanket and the frightened woman was calmed down and returned to her relatives safely in a nearby home.

Sikh men consider it improper to show their hair in public, but Paul stated that those rules are never applicable when there is a question of life and death. He said referring his father “I’m very proud of him.”

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By Prakriti Neogi