After heavy rain battered the village of Malleyan in Punjab’s Moga district, the only road linking Malleyan to Rasulpur was severely damaged. A wide gap of about five feet opened up, with waist-deep and fast-flowing water rushing through the break.

This left 35 schoolchildren stranded on the far side, as they tried to return home following an early school holiday announced at 10 am.

Word of the dangerous situation spread quickly through the village, particularly via the local Gurudwara. Two men, Sukhbinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh, were among........

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