Elderly Den Bosch man saves toddler from drowning

"For the second time this week, we could hand out a flower for a heroic deed", the Den Bosch police wrote on Facebook. On Wednesday 70-year-old Cees van Loon rescued his toddler neighbor from drowning. "A heroic deed? Anyone would've done it", Cees said to Omroep Brabant.

Cees went out to smoke a cigarette on Wednesday when he saw the 1.5-year-old boy floating in a canal. He first thought that it was just a piece of clothing, but when he saw a little arm he did not hesitate. "I took off my shoes and jumped in", he said to the broadcaster. When he got the boy to the side, he noticed that it was his neighbor's son. The boy slipped out of his parents' house unnoticed.

"Fortunately he immediately started crying and coughing. I called [emergency number] 112 and they were there in no time. The first responders examined him for 45 minutes and everything looks good", Cees said to Omroep Brabant. The boy's parents are extremely grateful to their neighbor. So is the police, who brought him flowers on Thursday.