In January this year, an Indian-origin construction worker in Romania became a hero after risking his life to save a five-year-old girl who had fallen through the ice of a frozen lake. This work earned him the title of Honorary Citizen of the city of Craiova.Vipan Kumar, 47, jumped into the cold waters of a lake in the Romanian city of Craiova after he saw the child struggling in the water.Recalling the dramatic rescue, Kumar told Digi24 television station: “I was on a walk with a friend of mine. I saw the little girl in the water, then I immediately jumped in. The water was very cold; everything happened very quickly.”The Indian employee said there was little time to think before taking action.“I just tried to pull her out of the water, that’s all I thought. The little girl was very brave,” Kumar said.Pictures of the rescue went viral on social media. The footage showed Kumar being driven across the snow on a sleigh towards the trapped child, before the snow beneath him slipped away. He managed to hold the girl’s arm and keep her above the cold water until emergency teams arrived.Both Kumar and the child were pulled from the lake and taken to hospital suffering from hypothermic shock. He was in stable condition.The incident took place in a park in the city where the girl was spending time with her parents. At one point, she jumped off the sled and ran onto the frozen lake. The ice broke beneath her and she fell into the water.His father immediately entered the lake to try to save him but got stuck in the broken ice. As soon as the situation came to light, people alerted the emergency services.Craiova Mayor Lia Olguta Vasilescu later announced that Kumar would receive the title of Honorary Citizen of the city for his actions.“I decided to propose that he receive the title of honorary citizen. The Craiova local council will formally confer the title, which comes with certain benefits.”“We hope his philanthropic and humanitarian behavior will inspire others,” the mayor told HotNews.
Mayor Vasilescu also shared details about Kumar’s background in a Facebook post. He said the Indian national arrived in Romania in June 2025 and recently started working for a construction company in Malu Mare commune in Dolj County.“He is an Indian citizen. Vipan Kumar is 47 years old and has been in Romania since June. This month he became an employee of a company in the Malu Mare commune in Dolj County as an unskilled worker in the construction sector, and will receive a residence permit,” Lia Olguta Vasilescu wrote at the time.Kumar’s work has also been praised by his employer. The owner of the company he works for is considering rewarding him with a trip to India so he can meet his family. Kumar has an eight-year-old daughter who came to Romania in search of work and is employed as a construction worker.His quick thinking and courage have transformed him from a migrant worker far from home into one of Craiova’s most famous residents.