The dramatic rescue was caught on video. Photo / NBC
The dramatic rescue was caught on video. Photo / NBC
A group of Sikh men hiking in the Canadian wilderness have been hailed as heroes after removing their turbans to save two men from a waterfall.
The group's actions were caught on video and have quickly spread around the world.
Kuljinder Kinda and four friends were hiking in Canada's GoldenEars Provincial Park on October 11 when two men slipped on a rock and fell into a pool above a raging waterfall.
With the stricken men unable to climb out, the group of hikers quickly formed a plan.
"We were trying to think how we could get them out, but we didn't know how to," Kinda told NBC news.
"Hold it tightly, don't let go," one rescuer said as the man slowly made his way up the slick rock face.
"Keep coming … Keep holding the turbans!" the group told the man.
The two hikers, who have not been publicly identified, thanked the hikers for saving them from the water and Kinda told NBC that they weren't scared by the incident.
"In Sikhi, we are taught to help someone in any way we can with anything we have, even our turban," he said.
Officials said the falls were in a fenced area, the men who fell in had walked past warning signs.
Robert Laing, the search and rescue manager at Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, warned hikers to be careful around the park's waterways.
"Several people are injured each year as a result of slips or falls," he said. "It seems about once every one to two years, someone will be swept over the falls and die as a result of their injuries."
Kuljinder Kinda and his mates arrived just in time. Photo / Kuljinder Kinda
The Sikh Community of British Columbia shared the video on Twitter and said, "Kudos to these young men for their quick thinking and selflessness."
A similar incident was recorded in New Zealand in 2015, when Auckland man Harman Singh came to the aid of a young boy who had been hit by a car, taking off his turban to cradle his head.
