Kollam: In an astounding incident, a 64-year-old woman from Kollam miraculously survived after falling into the swollen Kallada River and being swept away nearly 10 kilometres by the current.
The woman, Shyamalayamma of Manoj Bhavan in Kizhakke Kulakkada, found herself in a life-threatening situation after slipping into the gushing waters while washing clothes at the river ghat near her home. The river was in full spate due to heavy rains over the past several days, and to make matters worse, Shyamalayamma did not know how to swim. She, however, made her way into her second life after some local residents heard her wailing while she was stuck on some creepers downstream.
Caught by the currents, Shyamalayamma floated on the water with her face up and drifted down the river for a long distance, passing the Chettiyarazheekath, Njankadavu, and Kunnathur bridges. Some onlookers on the Kunnathur bridge even captured footage of her being swept away but assumed she was not alive.
Miraculously, Shyamalayamma got stuck in some riverine creepers near the Mangalassery ghat in Cherupoyka. Around 1.30 pm, two local residents, Deepa and Saumya, heard her wailing and found her clinging to a creeper. They quickly alerted the nearby residents and the police. People rushed to the spot, approached her in a canoe, and successfully rescued her.
Shyamalayamma had been trapped in the creepers in a location called Urulumala, known for its deep craters on the riverbed. She was immediately taken to a hospital, where a preliminary medical examination confirmed she had sustained no major injuries.