GUWAHATI, Sept 06: Eleven-year-old Kamal Kishore Das braved the strong current of a swollen Brahmaputra river and put his life in danger by jumping into it thrice within 20 minutes even after safely reaching the bank, to save his mother and aunt.

His only regret—he could not save a woman and her child even after pulling them to safety. "I had just pulled out my mother and my aunt when I saw a woman with burka and a child in her arms struggling to stay afloat. I jumped again into the water and pulled both of them to the concrete slabs of the pillars of a water reservoir on the river. Unfortunately, the child slipped into the water from the woman’s hands and was swiftly swept away by the river. The woman too jumped into the river and I saw her being swept away into the river before I could take another jump," Kamal told TOI.

Kamal, a class VI student of St Anthony’s School at North Guwahati, was returning home along with his mother and aunt after dropping his grandmother at her home in Guwahati when the ill-fated country boat they were riding capsized and sank in the Brahmaputra river, which is in spate.

“When the boat hit the pillars of the water reservoir and started sinking, my mother asked me to take off my shoes and swim to the bank. I did and reached the bank. I then realized that my mother and my aunt were not with me. I jumped back into the river and started swimming in the place where the accident happened. I saw my mother. She does not know swimming and was struggling in the water. I caught her by her hair and thought the hairs would come off and immediately held her by her hand and pulled her towards the pillars,” Kamal said.

Along with Kamal and his mother, there were many other survivors who had managed to swim to the pillar and cling on to it for life. “Suddenly I saw a woman at a distance who looked like my aunt and she too was struggling to stay afloat. I took another jump and pulled her to the pillar.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Jaipur, Jul 25 (PTI): An Air India flight bound for Mumbai from Jaipur returned to the airport due to a suspected technical snag mid-air on Friday, officials said.

"Flight AI612 operating from Jaipur to Mumbai returned to Jaipur shortly after take-off due to a suspected technical issue. Troubleshooting checks were carried out, and it was determined to be a false indication," Air India said in a statement.

Following the checks, the aircraft was cleared for operations, and the flight continued to its destination in Mumbai.

Air India, in its statement, emphasised that passenger safety is the airline's top priority.