Good Samaritan Drowns Trying to Save 3 Children in Kings River Near Fresno

REEDLEY (CBS/AP) -- A Fresno man died after jumping into a swift-moving river in Reedley to rescue three children struggling in the water, police and the man's family said.

Manjeet Singh, 29, was visiting Reedley Beach with several relatives and friends Wednesday evening when they heard a woman cry for help and saw the children drifting into the river. Singh took off his turban and tried to use it as a rope to pull the children to safety but when that didn't work he rushed into the cold water and was quickly pulled under, his brother-in-law Malkiat Singh told a local television station.

Singh was found downstream after emergency personnel searched for an hour, police Cmdr. Marc Ediger said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Singh's family and friends worked together to rescue two children out of the water, but a third child — an 8-year-old girl — was swept away by the current. She was taken to a hospital where she remained on life support, the station reported.

"He saved two lives but he lost his life," the victim's friend, Gurpreet Singh, said.

Singh is not the first person to drown in the Kings River this summer. In June, another man from Fresno died after saving a young girl who was struggling to swim.

"The water is generally fairly calm down here in Reedley," Ediger said.

However, he said the river can be dangerous for those who are not strong swimmers because the sandbars at the river drop off quickly and the depth changes dramatically.

© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report