Army personnel rescue elderly man who jumped into canal to end his life in Punjab

LUDHIANA: Indian Army personnel on Friday rescued an elderly person after he attempted to end his life by jumping in Sirhind Canal near Doraha in Punjab.
As per Vajra Sappers, 52 Engineer Regiment, on March 17, at around 9.10am, 65-year-old Gurmail Singh from Khanna attempted to take his own life by jumping into Sirhind Canal at Doraha. Vajra Sappers of 11 Corps were carrying waterman-ship training approximately 150 metres downstream from the incident site at that time.
"One of the teams working at the site suddenly spotted a person drowning in the canal and immediately steered the boat in the direction of the individual. The drowning individual was nearly submerged, however, the rescue personnel threw a safety buoy over him and the diver was activated. The boat reached him within no time due to high levels of alertness of the men and the individual was pulled out of the water into the boat and then taken ashore," said a statement by Vajra Sappers of 11 Corps. "The individual was semi-conscious and his chest was filled with water. His vitals were checked by Army Medical Team and he was immediately resuscitated by Army Medical Representatives".
Vajra Sappers said that Local Police and family of the individual were promptly informed. It added that the individual was subsequently counselled and was taken by local police and his family in presence of the village sarpanch.
The Vajra Sappers displayed "high level of alertness" and swift action thereby saving the precious life which was well acknowledged and applauded by the locals and his family. A statement read "Such prompt and selfless action by the Vajra Sappers justifies the faith which the nation imposes onto the Saviours of the Nation each and every time".