Turkish shepherd sacrifices arms to save pigeon

by Ilhami Erkilic and Sibel Ugurlu

Erzurum, Turkey (AA) – A 16-year-old shepherd in eastern Turkey who lost his arms while trying to save a pigeon says he does not regret his decision.

Ramazan Tademir, the son of a poor family in Diyadin district in Agri province, tried to save a pigeon which was stuck in pylon, two weeks ago.

"It was flapping its wings to show it needed help," said Tasdemir, who managed to save the pigeon, but in the process got electrocuted.

"I don't regret my decision, but I miss my arms," he told Anadolu Agency.

The teenager is now receiving treatment at the Training and Research Hospital in eastern Erzurum province.

Mehmet Ozturk, the operations director at the burn unit, said he is "getting better", adding that the boy suffered serious damage to his nerve, vein and muscle.

“We did our best to save his hands and arms, however, we had to amputate the forearms and hands four days ago as there was no improvement,” he said.

Tasdemir said he did not know that his rescue effort could be dangerous. "Now I only want prosthetic arms and a job," he said.