11-Year-Old Boy Finds Way To Pull Drowning Man Who Outweighs Him by 100 Lbs from Water
Small children are not normally known for their strength. Yes, they may be strong-willed or have a fierce sense of independence, but you wouldn’t expect them to be able to lift incredibly heavy objects.
But 11-year-old Advaik Nandikotkur has shown the physical strength of children after saving the life of a man more than three times his age on Dec. 30.
According to KMSP-TV, Advaik was spending an evening with his family by their apartment complex’s pool in Eagan, Minnesota, when something horrible happened.
Advaik’s father, Raghu Nandikotkur, peered into the water and saw something no one wants to see: An unmoving man at the bottom of the pool.
There was a problem, though. Out of all the people clustered around the pool, young Advaik was the only one who knew how to swim.
The Star Tribune reported that Nandikotkur initially grabbed a life preserver and tried to go in on his own. But he soon realized that he couldn’t manage the rescue himself.
That was when Advaik’s mom got involved. “Mom told me to jump in, and I said he was probably too heavy, but I jumped in anyway,” Advaik said.
Indeed, the man at the bottom of the pool, 34-year-old Srinivasa R. Yalavarthi, weighed far more than the 70-pound boy. But somehow Advaik managed to get him to the lip of the pool.
Nandikotkur believes that basic buoyancy helped his son rescue the man. After Advaik got him to the shallows, bystanders dragged him out.
“He was unconscious and not breathing,” Eagan Police Department Officer Aaron Machtemes said. “For all intents and purposes, he was dead.”
Soon, though, Advaik’s uncle began to administer CPR to Yalavarthi. The man eventually started to respond.
Nearby neighbors began to cheer for Advaik once Yalavarthi was in the clear. That seemed to shock the young man.
“He was kind of surprised that the neighbors were so appreciative,” Nandikotkur said. “It was after people started clapping that he realized what was happening.
“(He is) mentally strong. He takes care of himself emotionally.”
Machtemes said, “I’ve never seen a child spring into action to save an adult from drowning. There’s examples of people being rescued, but I’ve never heard of a case like this.”
Without a doubt, Yalavarthi is the person most appreciative of Advaik’s bravery. “He said he loves me,” the boy said.
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