Kollam: In an astounding incident, a 64-year-old woman from Kollam had a miraculous escape after she fell into the swollen Kallada River and was swept away for nearly 10 km by the swift current.
Shyamalayamma of Kizhakke Kulakkada found herself in a life-threatening situation after she slipped into the gushing waters while washing clothes at the river bank near her home. The river was in spate due to heavy rain 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 crying as she held on to the 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.
To her luck, Shyamalayamma got stuck in 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 rescued her.
Shyamalayamma was trapped in the creepers at Urulumala which is known for its deep craters on the riverbed. She was immediately taken to a hospital, where a preliminary medical examination confirmed that she had sustained no major injuries.
