SANGRUR (Punjab): The heroic act of two men from Sangrur, Inderpal Singh (34) and Kamalpreet Singh (25), using their turbans to save the lives of eight drowning youths during Ganesha idol immersion at Sullar Gharaat village in the district went viral on social media on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Friday evening but the video of the rescue act appeared on social media on Tuesday. The religious code of conduct doesn’t allow Sikhs to take off their turbans.

Inderpal and Kamalpreet were part of a group of devotees who had thronged Sullar Gharat village to immerse Ganesha idols in a canal. “First, five youths slipped into the canal while immersing the idols. They had fallen very near to the canal bridge and shouted for help. I immediately spotted a wire lying near the bridge and rescued two of them with the help of the wire. However, three others were still caught in a current,” said Inderpal.

“Then, three persons jumped into the canal to rescue the trapped trio. However, they, too, were caught in a whirlpool. Then I threw my nine-metre-long turban into the canal and pulled out three youths,” he added.

READ ALSO: Sikh youth saves visually impaired man's life in US

The incident came to light after a video was circulated in the social media.

The rescued youths were identified as Inderpal Singh, Jiwan Singh, Kamalprit Singh and Inder Tiwari.

Inderpal, one of the youth saved, said their saviour had first tried to pull them out with the help of a wire that was lying on embankment of the canal but it broke. He then used his turban.

Inderpal Singh's life-saving act was similar to an incident that had taken place in New Zealand in May this year when Harman Singh (22) had used his turban to save the life of a boy who bled from the head after being hit by a car in Auckland.

READ ALSO: Truckload of gifts for Sikh who broke protocol and cradled injured boy's head with turban