Indian American boy saves drowning man from apartment pool

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Indian American Advaik Nandikotkur, 11, of St. Paul, Minnesota saved an Indian American man, who was drowning in the swimming pool of the boy’s apartment complex.

According to a Star Tribune report, Nandikotur jumped into the pool on January 2, to save Srinivasa Yalavarthi, 34, of Chicago, who was visiting family who live in the same apartment complex.

Nandikotkur’s mother, Lalitha Mareddy told KARE 11 that he is the only one in the family who can swim as he has been taking swimming lessons ever since his family moved from India three years ago.

Mareddy told CNN that she saw Yalavarthi unconscious at the bottom of the deep end of the pool with his mouth open and hands stretched out and asked for help, but none of the nine men surrounding the pool knew how to swim.

Nandikotkur’s father, Raghu Nandikotkur attempted to rescue Yalavarthi in a floating tube but he was unable to and the boy swam down instead and pulled the man to the surface of the water, after which his father helped him get the man to the edge of the pool.

The boy’s uncle then performed CPR on Yalavarthi and minutes later, he regained his conscious.

Yalavarthi thanked the 5^th grader with a $50 Macy’s gift card the next day.

His uncle will be recommended for lifesaving awards from officer Aaron Machtemes of the Eagan Police Department, the Star Tribune reported.