By Alex Guite
LAMKA, June 7: In a rare feat of courage and extreme act of bravery, two teenagers, Thangliankhai son of Thangkhanmung of Mission Veng and Paubiakmuan son of Khaikhup of Zomi Colony who were playing football rescued a two-year old boy and his three year old sister from inside their burning house, late yesterday evening.
The two children were inside as their mother had bolted the door so that they were unable to come out when a fire suddenly erupted engulfing the whole house.
Although the two siblings were saved, the rented residence of Joy Lalmuan, 28 son of Ngaka has been completely gutted by the inferno. However, the source of the fire is yet to be identified, although a faulty electric circuit is believed to have caused the fire.
Speaking to IFP, the two boys said they were playing football near the house when they heard children crying.
When they checked, they found black smoke billowing out of the house which was already on fire, the two said.
Seeing the fire, they rushed to the house and break open the door to enter in the house.
`We know that it would be very risky but the cries of the children made us to enter the house and save them,` they echoed.
`Luckily, there were no harm to the little kids and us,` one of them said.
Joy`™s wife Momoi, 25 said she had gone out to fetch water and had bolted the door from outside living his two babies inside, however all of a sudden the fire engulfed the whole structure.
The fire could have been more disastrous if the families gas cylinder was not empty, she said.
The fire must have destroyed property worth around Rs 3.5 lakhs, according to locals.
Meanwhile, the family is staying at the moment with their relatives at Tuibuang Village.
The grandfather of the children, Ngaka told IFP that in all the confusion due to the fire, his family is unable to still meet the two boys and thank them for their bravery.
`However, our gratitude for them is boundless, without them my grandchildren would not have survived the fire,` he said.
He further thanked the local neighbours and fire brigade team for helping the family douse the fire.