Six-year-old blown away in inflatable ball on Lake Alakol rescued by police officer

Tengrinews.kz - A potential tragedy was narrowly avoided on Lake Alakol thanks to the quick actions of a police officer, citing Polisia.kz.
During a family outing, a six-year-old boy on the beach with his relatives decided to ride an aqua zorbing ball — a large inflatable sphere tethered by a rope. The ride operators handed the rope to the child’s grandfather, but a sudden gust of wind tore it from his hands, and the ball with the boy inside was rapidly swept away from the shore into deeper water.
It all happened in an instant. At that moment, officer Talgat Ospanov from the East Kazakhstan regional police department was in the water nearby, vacationing with his family.
Seeing what was happening, he immediately rushed toward the drifting inflatable ball. The child’s grandfather and father also jumped in to help, but it was the officer who reached the boy first. Together, they managed to pull the child back to shore, safe and unharmed.

“We didn’t even know Talgat Sultanovich. He had never met us or our son. There were many people on the beach, but he was the one who acted decisively and didn’t hesitate. Every second, our son was drifting farther away, and it’s only thanks to his bravery that he is alive. Our entire family is endlessly grateful,” the boy’s mother said.

Photo: polisia.kz
Previously, four hikers who went missing near a waterfall in the Almaty mountains were rescued by local emergency services.