Braveheart Zaid, flanked by his friends Himanshu and Raj, on their RB Springdale (P) School campus in Ranchi on Friday. (Hardeep Singh)

Adults sunk safety procedures during Ranchi’s Bada Talab ill-fated motorboat trip that claimed four persons, but a 10-year-old schoolboy made the first plunge to salvage lives.

If six-year-old Sayan Mukherjee is alive, he has Zaid bhaiya to thank. Fifth grader Md Zaid of RB Springdale (P) School on Aughar Ashram Road near Bada Talab, was the first to react when the overloaded boat turned turtle after two rounds.

The avid swimmer brought out a gasping little boy, later identified as Sayan.

Just a few minutes ago on that Sunday afternoon, Zaid was just another disappointed schoolboy after being refused a ride in that very motorboat.

He and two of his senior school friends Raj Singh and Himanshu Kumar were standing on the shore with glum faces, envying the 17 persons on the boat.

Suddenly, the boat keeled over. Amid screams and cries, young Zaid jumped into the cold water.

“My friends and I were refused a ride and we were waiting for the second turn. But when the boat capsized, I didn’t have time to think. I just jumped. Before I realised what happened, I was holding a small boy,” Zaid told The Telegraph.

Putting Sayan on shore, he leapt into the water again, this time pulling out three-year-old Sana, who however could not be saved.

Nearby fishermen had started rescue operations by then.

Zaid, Raj and Himanshu grabbed hold of a dripping wet Sayan, stopped a motorist and carried the boy to Seva Sadan hospital.

Seva Sadan staff Savitri remembered the three schoolboys. “I can’t remember them by face, but yes, three boys came rushing with Sayan. We immediately admitted the child to ICU. It was then we got to know about the boating accident and prepared medical staff for more patients,” she said.

But pulling out Sayan and Sana, why did Zaid keep a low profile?

“He’s shy,” said school principal Meera Shahdeo. “I learned about Zaid’s incredible bravery from my teacher Moupali Bose, among the visitors at Nigam Park (adjoining Bada Talab), who spotted Zaid pulling out the small boy.”

Zaid, when asked, offered impeccable logic. “My parents would have scolded me saying tumhe kuchh ho jata toh (what if something happened to you),” the boy said.

Fourth among nine siblings, Zaid is the son of driver Md Sarfaraz and homemaker Sazda Khatoon, residents of Purani Ranchi, Abdul Karim Lane. Sarfaraz, reacting to his son’s bravery, sounded both proud and worried. “Yes, he did well, par agar usko kuchh ho jata to hum kya karte, kahan jaate? (we’d have been heartbroken had something happened to him),” the father said.

Principal Meera Shahdeo, however, said the boy’s exemplary courage should be recognised.

“On our part, the school will waive Zaid’s education fee. I appeal to Ranchi district administration to consider his name for Republic Day bravery awards,” she said.