‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’ And Gen. Omar N. Bradely of the United States Army once described bravery as the ability to react and perform, even when scared half to death.

Barely 11 years old, Tejavath Vishnu did exactly the same, rescuing three children from drowning on Saturday evening. This tribal boy, with help from Tejavath Agnesh (15) didn’t think about his safety for a moment and plunged into the water of a tank at Ilapuram in the district and saved three children. However, the Tejavath duo could not save Devandar (6).

Villagers and parents of the children who were rescued by Vishnu urged the district administration to recommend his name for the National Bravery Award of the Government of India. The parents of the deceased boy said had Vishnu reached the place a few minutes earlier, their son too would have been saved. Villagers said Tejavath Devandar (6), Banavath Rajesh (9), Banavath Kotesh (11) and Tejavath Rahul (11) were playing very close to village tank when the youngest of the quartet got in to the tank.

When he started drowning, his friends Rajesh, Kotesh and Rahul also jumped in to the water in a bid to save him, even though none of them knew swimming. Tejavath Vishnu and Tejavath Agnesh saw them struggling to come out. Even as Agnesh was standing on the edge of tank wondering what to do, Vishnu jumped in to the tank without a second thought.

He successfully brought Rajesh, Kotesh and Rahul, one by one, close to the edge, where Agnesh pulled them to safety. But by that time, Devandar had exhausted his breath. His body was later fished out of the water by villagers. A pal of gloom descended on the village, but villagers queued up to congratulate the brave boy.

Vishnu, the son of a labourer couple Srinivas and Sri Devi, studies in Class VI at the local Government school, while Agnesh is a dropout due to his family’s financial constraints. He told The Hindu he was taught swimming by his mother at a very young age and that helped him to save others’ lives. When asked if he did not think about the risk to his own life, the youngster said while he was confident that he could save all of them, he was disappointed that he could not save Devandar.