In a heroic act, a three-year-old boy in Brazil saved his friend from drowning in a swimming pool.
Arthur de Oliveira, a resident of Itaperuna that lies north of Rio de Janeiro, is being hailed as a hero after his mother shared a video of the boy saving his friend Henrique, also three-years-old, after he fell into a pool. The video has since gone viral.
In the home surveillance video footage that has been widely shared online, the two boys can be seen near the pool. While trying to catch an inflatable ring, Henrique loses his balance and falls into the pool.
As Henrique struggles to swim out, Arthur can be seen looking around for help. Arthur then reached out to grab his friend's hand and helped pull his friend out of the pool.
"This video serves as an alert for those who have a pool at home and children. Thank God the ending is happy, because God sent the land under my care, my son, my little Arthur, a true hero! Real life hero, my pride," Arthur's mother, Poliana Console de Oliveira, said while sharing the video on her Facebook page last week.
The incident took place at a farm home in Itaperuna earlier this month while the children were alone at the pool. According to reports, Henrique, the son of the caretaker for the property, sneaked out of his home without telling his mother and came to the pool.
After the video went viral, local police officials felicitated the little 'hero'. The boy was also awarded by the Military Police of Itaperuna with a certificate and a trophy that said, 'From a hero to a hero.'
"A souvenir because you are an instrument of God, a real hero. The world needs heroes like you," one of the officers said in a tribute video.