Shoma Hatamura, front center left, and Gin Shinya, front center right, are seen with their certificates of thanks from the Yahatanishi Fire Department, in Yahatanishi Ward, Kitakyushu, on Aug. 11, 2021. (Mainichi/Shotaro Asano)

       KITAKYUSHU -- Two teenagers here were issued with certificates of thanks by a local fire department on Aug. 11 for their bravery in diving into a river to save a man from a sinking car in the dark of night.

       Shoma Hatamura, 17, and Gin Shinya, 15, both residents of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, were awarded the certificates by the Yahatanishi Fire Department for their efforts. Department chief Takuji Okamoto praised the boys, saying, "They saved a precious life with their courageous actions amid dark, difficult conditions."

       On June 27 at about 9:25 p.m., around 10 people who were skateboarding in Wakamatsu Ward by the bank of the Egawa River spotted a car that had come off the nearby Sakaehashi bridge and was sinking beneath the water. They knew they had to do something. While their friends were contacting the police, Hatamura and Shinya decided to act.

       Hatamura described it, saying, "Before I knew it, we were in the river," which is about 50 meters wide and 2 meters deep at that point. Together, they pulled the 69-year-old driver from the vehicle to safety through the partially open driver's side window. By the time firefighters arrived at the scene some minutes later, the car was reportedly completely submerged. The man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

       Speaking after receiving the certificate of thanks, Hatamura said, "I'm glad he survived." Shinya said of how he felt at the time: "We were desperate, thinking we had to dive in there and help him."

       (Japanese original by Shotaro Asano, Kyushu News Department)

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