Sikh Hikers Use Makeshift Rope From Turbans to Save Hikers From Waterfall

By Darby Jones October 20, 2021
“In Sikhi, we are taught to help someone in any way we can with anything we have, even our turban,” said one of the hikers.

Five hikers in British Columbia used their turbans to create a makeshift rope to save two men on their trail that had fallen into a pool below a waterfall.

Kuljinder Kinda and four friends were hiking in Golden Ears Provincial Park on Oct. 11 when they learned that two men had slipped on a slippery rock and fallen into a pool above a waterfall and could not get themselves back to safety. Kinda said they did not have cellphone service to call emergency services, so they came up with the idea to create a rope out of their turbans.

“We were trying to think how we could get them out, but we didn’t know how to,” Kinda, an electrician originally from Punjab, India, who is Sikh, told NBC News. “So we walked for about 10 minutes to find help and then came up with the idea to tie our turbans together.”

The group removed their turbans and other articles of clothing to tie the fabric together and create a 33-foot makeshift rope, which they threw down to the men and instructed them to tighten it before pulling themselves up. “In Sikhi, we are taught to help someone in any way we can with anything we have, even our turban,” said Kinda. “We really just cared about the safety of the men.”

Two two men, whose identities remain unknown, thanked Kinda and his friends for their kindness before leaving.

The Sikh Community of British Columbia tweeted the video of the interaction and gave kudos to the group of men for their selflessness.

Image source: New York Post