VIDEO A Nepalese man jumped into the frozen lake and saved a 5-year-old girl who fell into the water, in Craiova. “I ask to be rewarded”

A Nepalese worker was the first to reach a 5-year-old girl who fell into the frozen lake in the Nicolae Romanescu Park, in Craiova. The rescue action was a dramatic one: the girl's father and other passers-by tried to save her. Only the Nepalese man managed to reach the girl and kept her afloat until the firemen arrived.

The incident took place on Saturday and was reported by witnesses and several local officials on the Facebook page.

According to witnesses, the child was with her parents, and at one point she jumped off the sled and ran across the ice to the middle of the lake. The ice broke, and the little girl ended up in the water. Her father immediately jumped into the water to save her, but got stuck in the ice. Four other men then tried to intervene to help.

“The child was lucky that she was dressed thickly and floated for about 20 minutes, holding on to the ice with one hand, without anyone on the side being able to intervene and help her in any way. After 15/20 minutes a thinner man, dressed only in shorts, got on a sled and tried to move towards the child and grab him, only to be pulled back later, but the ice gave way too ended up having the same fate as the little girl, remaining in the middle of the lake”, described the witness Lucian Stuparu, on the Facebook page.

The Nepalese held the child afloat until the fire department arrived.

The sub-prefect of Dolj county, Eugen Călinoiu, who was in the park at the time, confirmed that the girl was saved with the help of a migrant worker. The sub-prefect filmed the scene and posted the images on his Facebook account.

“The most important aspect is the fact that the first to reach the little girl, through the frozen water and who holds her in his arms for 30 minutes, is a MAN whom I identified, when getting into the ambulance, as being of Asian origin, probably a migrant worker, but who risked his life to save a Romanian child from death. Empathy has no limits and does not depend on origin, but on how we treat our fellow men”, Eugen Călinoiu said.

“to be rewarded”

After the incident, the local councilor Teodor Sas asked the mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, to support and reward the Nepalese.

“A man from Nepal, working in our city, jumped into the frozen water of the lake in the Romanescu Park and saved a little girl of only 5 years. Without thinking about him. No cameras. No applause. Only with incredible courage and a big heart”, wrote Teodor Sas, on his Facebook page.

“As a local councilor, I publicly thank him for his heroic gesture and I firmly believe that our city has the duty to honor him as it should. Therefore, I publicly ask the mayor and colleagues from the local administration: to be rewarded and supported for the gesture made; to show that this city knows how to respect its heroes, regardless of nationality. Humanity has no borders. Courage has no passport,” concluded local councilor Teodor Saxon