The first statements of the Indian who saved the girl from Craiova, who fell into a frozen lake. “And she had a lot of courage”
Vipan Kumar Photo: Facebook
Vipan Kumar, the Indian who jumped into the icy water of the lake in the Nicolae Romanescu Park, in Craiova, to save a 5-year-old girl, said that the child also had a lot of courage until they were pulled out of the water by the firemen.
“I was on a walk with a friend of mine. I saw the little girl in the water, then I immediately jumped in. The water was very cold, everything happened very quickly,” Vipan Kumar told Digi24.
The Indian says he didn't have much time to think before jumping into the water. “I just tried to get her out of the water, that's all I thought about. And the little girl had a lot of courage,” the 47-year-old man added.
The boss of the company he works for said he was thinking of giving Vipan Kumar a trip back to India so he could see his family again after he was released from the hospital. Kumar also has an 8-year-old daughter.
Vipan Kumar is 47 years old and is an unskilled construction worker, announced the mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguța Vasilescu.
“I decided to propose to the Craiova City Council that we grant him the title of honorary citizen, with all the advantages that come from it. We hope that his altruistic and humanitarian gesture will inspire others,” the mayor of Craiova told HotNews.
VIDEO The rescuer of the 5-year-old girl who fell into a frozen lake is Indian, not Nepalese. He will receive the title of honorary citizen of Craiova / New images with his intervention
In a message posted on Facebook, she gave more details about the man who rescued the little girl from the frozen lake.
“He is an Indian citizen. Vipan Kumar is 47 years old and has been in Romania since 06/22/2024. For a month he became an employee of a company in Malu Mare commune, Preajba village, Dolj county, as an unskilled worker in the field of construction, going to obtain a residence permit,” Lia Olguța Vasilescu wrote on her Facebook page.
Images with intervention by Vipan Kumar
Meanwhile, more images of the intervention of the man, who several local officials initially said was Nepali, have surfaced on social media. You can even see the moment when he goes on a sled to the little girl. The moment he grabbed her arm, the ice gave way and he too fell into the water.
The man then held the little girl in his arms until rescuers came and pulled them both out. The two arrived at the hospital with hypothermic shock, but are in a stable condition.
The child was with her parents in the park, but 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. The incident took place on Saturday and was reported by witnesses and several local officials on the Facebook page.
Photo: Facebook.com / Craiova, my beautiful city
