Uzhavoor/Fort Myers, Florida: A Malayali woman doctor died when her car overturned and fell into a canal filled with alligators in Florida in the US.
Dr Nita Kunnumpurath, 30, lived in Chicago. She was the daughter of A C Thomas and Thressiamma of Kunnumpurath in Uzhavoor. The accident happened at 6:30am American time (6 pm Indian time) on Friday.
Dr Nita, who worked at a hospital in Miami, was travelling alone from her residence in Bensenville, Illinois, to Naples when she lost control of the car and it fell into the canal in an area known as Alligator Alley.
An American couple in a car just behind her stopped after seeing the accident. The husband got into the canal and pulled Nita out of the car. But when he was trying to bring an unconscious Nita out of the canal, alligators rushed towards him. When his wife saw this and screamed, he gave up the effort and got out of the canal. They informed the police, who came and removed the doctor out of the canal. But she was already dead by then.
The canals are on the sides of the I-75 Express Highway that connects Florida and Naples. There are safety instructions along this stretch filled with alligators.
A C Thomas, who retired from the Excise Department, has been in the United States with his family for 15 years. He currently resides in Elmas in Chicago.
Nita was a PG student in surgery in Miami. The burial will be held later at SH Knanaya Catholic Church in Chicago. Nitin and Nimisha are her siblings.
Dr Nita wanted to offer free medical service for the poor in Wayanad
Dr Nita had a dream that she had shared with her father Thomas and her friends. She had wanted to study to become a doctor. After completing studies, she had wanted to return to Wayanad, start a hospital for the poor and offer free service for at least two years.
Thomas said that Dr Nita, who was called ‘Chachikutty’ at home, spoke to him for about an hour the night before the accident. He said that the accident happened when she was on her way back to her residence in Bensenville in Illinois, after attending a mass at a church in Naples.
Nita studied till class X in Kerala. She immigrated to the US with her family after she completed Class X at De Paul Public School in Kalpetta.
While her older brother Nitin graduated from pharmacy and sister Nimisha graduated from physiotherapy, Nita joined a hospital in Miami for a postgraduate degree in surgery after graduating in medicine. She had moved her residence to Miami last December after joining the PG course.
Nita's death in a canal full of alligators became a big news in the US media. The media also released a video of an alligator swimming towards her car.
The rescue operation was hampered by the presence of alligators around the car as it was impossible to get into the water. The police said rescue workers were able to get into the canal only after one or two alligators were shot dead.
The canals along the road where Nita met with the mishap are filled with alligators. While travelling on the highway from Naples to Fort Lauderdale, a distance of about 128 km, it is common to see congregations of alligators in the rivers and canals along the highway. It is also common for the alligators to get onto the roads to dry themselves in the sun and in search of prey.
