NAKAMA, Fukuoka -- This city in southwest Japan honored three high school students on Aug. 18. The students saved three elementary school pupils from drowning in a pond at a park. The city gave them certificates of appreciation.
Read the full English article
Read the original Japanese article
The three students are Mahiro Osato, 18, Keita Kinugawa, 17, and Ryo Otsuyama, 18. They are classmates in the third year at Kibogaoka High School in the city. They are all members of the school's soccer club.
The accident happened at about 4 p.m. on July 17. The three students were going home after club activities. Then an old man asked them for help. He said, "Children are drowning in a pond."
The students ran to the pond at Habu Park. First, they held out their hands and pulled up two pupils. The children were drowning near the bottom of a bridge. Then Osato, who can swim well, went into the pond in only his underwear. He dived and pulled up one more pupil. The child was floating face up.
Kinugawa talked about that time. He said, "My mind went blank, but I thought we should first pull up the children who were close to the shore. They were crying, so I called out to them, 'Calm down.'"
Osato also talked about it. He said, "My feet slipped on something like moss. It was deep enough that my feet couldn't touch the bottom." He added, "I acted on instinct."
Otsuyama said, "I'm glad we were able to save the little children."
Sho Yamaguchi, 27, a teacher and soccer club coach, was at the ceremony. He praised the students' teamwork. He said, "What they usually do in club activities -- helping people and their teammates -- came out at a crucial moment."
Mayor Kenji Fukuda also came to the ceremony. He praised the students, saying, "They taught us what we should be like as human beings."
(Japanese original by Yumiko Tani, Kyushu News Department)
Vocabulary
honored: gave special thanks
certificates: official papers
drowning: going under water and unable to breathe
pond: a small area of water
pupils: school children
teamwork: people working well together
crucial: very important
instinct: a quick feeling about what to do
Post a Comment