Girl, 8, jumps into well to save sister from drowning near Karnataka's Tumakura town

BENGALURU: An eight-year-old girl who had just about started learning how to swim saved her three-year-old sibling who slipped and fell into an open well at Kuchchangi Palya village, near Tumakuru town, on July 8.
The girl's parents, Jitender and Rajkumari, work in a plantation in the same taluk. The couple along with their four children are originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Only recently, plantation owner Dhananjaya KV had started teaching Shalini, the couple's eldest daughter, and his own children how to swim in the same well. He had bought them life jackets and Shalini had learnt to paddle in water wearing one. The well was 50ft deep and the water stood at 30ft.
On the day of the incident, Shalini's sister Rashi, 3, and one-and-a-half-year-old brother Kapil were playing near the well. Shalini was standing outside the farmhouse, which was a few metres away from the well. The two children were squabbling over a ball when Rashi accidentally slipped and fell into the open well around 4.30pm, Dhananjaya, who was not at the farm, narrated the incident, quoting his labourers who were near the spot.
The little boy's screams drew Shalini's attention. Without wasting a moment, Shalini put on her life jacket lying nearby and jumped into the well. She held her little sister's hand and pulled her towards the steps of the open well. Painters Annappa SM and Harish, who were working on the farm, heard the commotion and rushed to the spot. "By the time we reached the well, Shalini had pulled her sister to the stairs inside it. Harish got I into the well and brought the kids out."
Annappa, who is from Davanagere, said he held Rashi upside down and got her to expel water, before shifting her to a private hospital. The girl was discharged the same day. Dhananjaya narrated the incident on his Facebook wall on Friday evening.
Applauding Shalini's bravery and presence of mind, Dhananjaya said: "I was pleasantly surprised to know that she used her swimming skills at such a crucial moment to save her sister."
The villagers have urged the authorities concerned to nominate Shalini for the national bravery award given to children for acts of courage.