5 Sikh men use turbans as a lifeline to rescue hikers
Five hikers used their turbans as a rope to rescue two men who fell into frigid waters below a raging waterfall in British Columbia on Oct. 11, according to media reports.
Kuljinder Kinda and four friends were hiking toward the waterfall when they saw the two men, who slipped on rocks and fell into a pool above the lower falls at Golden Ears Provincial Park.
Kinda said the people who stopped to help asked them to call emergency services, but they didn’t have cellphone service. That’s when they came up with the idea to create a rope out of their dastaars (turbans), one of five articles worn by Sikhs as headdresses usually made of cotton that protects their uncut hair.
“In Sikhi, we are taught to help someone in any way we can with anything we have, even our turban,” Kinda said, adding that he was afraid for his own life during the rescue. “We just really cared about the safety of the men.”
Video of the incident is being shared widely after Kinda posted his recording on WhatsApp and it made its way to hiking channels.
Although the two hikers thanked Kinda and his friends for springing into action they have not been publicly identified.
This isn’t the first time Sikh men have used their turbans to save lives, though the headwear is generally removed in private.
In 2020, a community of elderly Sikh men removed their turbans to save two girls who fell into a frozen pond in northeast Calgary.
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