Teen was walking his dogs when he heard a loud splash in a canal—the reason forced him to jump in immediately
It takes a different kind of strength and courage to put one’s own life at risk and go all in to save another. 15-year-old Ryley Ferguson executed a brave rescue in Knottingley, England, per The Yorkshire Evening Post. The teenager was walking his dogs as usual and was looking around. Along with the usual sight, he also spotted something worrisome. The next thing he knew, he needed to hurry over near the water and seconds later heard a loud splash. Fearing his gut feeling turned into a terrifying reality, the boy went all in to attempt a life-saving rescue with the help of strangers.
Ferguson was walking his dogs at around 4 pm on the other side of the canal. He spotted something worrisome on the other end and something pushed him to intervene. It was a toddler waving and shouting at him, with no idea of the danger he was about to get into. “I realised how young he was and with him being on the other side, I thought I needed to go and get him, or he’s going to go in,” the 15-year-old recalled. He then heard a loud splash and feared the worst. Rushing over to the other end, the teenager was freaked out to see the boy sinking. “A few seconds later, I saw his legs sinking,” Ferguson recalled.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more children between the ages of one and four lose their lives to drowning as compared to other mishaps. It is one of the leading causes of death for children. The child in this case was reported to be 18 months old. Without wasting time, the boy took off his shoes and his coat and jumped in to get hold of the toddler. "When I got to him, he was basically at the bottom of the canal. I saved his life,” he said in an interview with BBC News. Luckily, he was able to grab and hold on to him but required help to come out.
Ferguson shouted persistently for help for a few minutes until two men heard his voice and rushed to his aid. They managed to get the duo out of the water. The boy was shocked but uninjured. It is believed that he wandered away from his parents without their knowledge and fortunately, Ferguson spotted him before anything untoward took place. “It’s just lucky that I was there because 30 seconds later, he would have been dead,” the teenager said. His mom, Amy, was proud of his astute response and courage.
She recalled how neighbors who witnessed the scene unfold shared what happened. “He was brilliant, he wasn’t strong enough to help the kid out of the canal and he was holding him above water for some time, so it’s lucky people came to help,” the mom explained. Local councillor Tom Gordon reached out to the mayor of Wakefield Council to suggest a reward and recognition be given to Ryley for "his brave and selfless actions.” He commended the teenager and said, "Our town is extremely fortunate to have a lad like Ryley. He's a hero and he deserves to be recognised as such."
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