There were a few scary minutes when two young teenage girls broke through the ice of a Calgary stormwater pond.
Then, neighbours came to the rescue. The first responders included several Sikh men who unravelled their turbans and tied them together to form a rope.
“In their Sikh faith it’s a big thing to take your turban off but they didn’t think for one moment,” said another neighbour, Kulbinder Bangar. “It was quite a terrifying experience, but at the same time it was a wonderful experience to see these elderly citizens [who] went out of their way to help these young ladies.”
After making some headway with the turban rope, another neighbour contributed a garden rose. Together, they were able to pull the girls back onto land.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, the first turban-wearing Sikh to sit as a provincial legislator in Ontario, praised the rescuers:
EMS eventually arrived on the scene and transported the girls to a nearby hospital. They were released soon after having suffered only mild hypothermia.
There should probably be a fence around the lake, or some signs, or some parents around. But ultimately this a heartwarming rescue story that can – at least temporarily – restore some faith in humanity.