LUCKNOW: A 20-year-old Muslim youth on Saturday saved the life of a cow that had fallen into a well .

"I saw a large number of people gathered around the open well looking at a cow that had fallen in and volunteered to go down to save it," said Mohammad Zaki , who was returning after afternoon prayers at a masjid in Polykheda locality. "The crowd had been waiting for a crane to reach the well."

After the crane arrived, Zaki tied himself to its strap and was lowered into the 35-ft-deep dark well.

"I went in because its life was at risk," he said. "It was suffocating down there and the cow was distressed. It hit me on the leg, which is still swollen."

After caressing the cow to comfort it, Zaki strapped the animal from under the stomach to the crane harness and sat on top of it. "People were asking me to send the cow first, but I realised it was better to come along, lest the cow fell on me," he said.

Crane owner Prem Kumar said a lot of people were ready to be lowered into the well, but Zaki took the lead.

A resident of Bharat Bhakkan Mill in Aishbagh, Zaki juggles between working as a painter and a polisher. "My son is not educated but he didn't think twice before saving the animal's life," said Salma, his mother. "I was worried about him, but am glad that a life was saved. During Ramlila celebrations last year, fire from an effigy had reached some houses here. At that time too, Zaki had saved lives," she said.