Photo/Illutration Ema Ishii, left, and Kurumi Manabe explain how they found a woman who had fallen into a water channel in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, on July 2. (Yasushi Horie)

NIIHAMA, Ehime Prefecture--Quick-thinking by two elementary age girls walking home from school undoubtedly saved the life of an elderly woman who fell into a fast-flowing drainage ditch by the side of the road here.

In recognition of their heroic efforts, police in Ehime Prefecture recently presented the pair with framed letters of appreciation.

According to the citation issued by the Niihama Police Station, the woman in her 70s fell into a narrow channel that flows under the road on the evening of May 31.

She was swept about 30 meters before being spotted by Ema Ishii, 11, a sixth grader at Takihama Elementary School, and Kurumi Manabe, 8, a third grader at the same school.

The girls, close neighbors as well as friends, often go home together, calling each other, “Kurumi-chan” and “Ema.”

On this particular evening, Ishii noticed that the attention of a golden retriever being walked by a passerby was riveted to the side of the road.

Ishii figured something might be wrong and joined the dog to see what it was looking at.

Because the waterway is culverted and runs under the road, the elderly woman could not be seen.

But Ishii heard a sudden spluttering sound, as if water had entered someone’s mouth. Then, a few meters away in the dark, she spotted feet and clothes.

In the meantime, the dog owner had not noticed anything was amiss.

Ishii told Manabe, “Go get your mother,” while she stayed behind.

Manabe returned with her mother, and Ishii’s parents also came. They called the emergency services 119 number.

Paramedics forced open a steel lid on the road and extricated the woman, who had a broken shoulder and was suffering from hypothermia.

Police noted that it had rained heavily the day before, making the waterway a torrent.

Police presented the girls with the letter of appreciation on July 2.

Ishii said, “When I first noticed, I thought, ‘What is going on?’ But I thought I had to call an adult anyway. I stayed there because I thought it might be necessary to explain the situation.”

Manabe said, “I told my mother to come quickly because I hear someone’s voice” coming from the waterway.

“I felt anxious and nervous until the woman was rescued,” she added.

Hiroyuki Kira, the police station chief, thanked them and said, “Their quick and tactful actions made the rescue possible.”

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