Woman with mental illness dies after jumping into well; mother survives by clinging to rope in Kannur
A 42-year-old woman died after jumping into a well with her mother, who survived. The mother is recovering. Police suspect a mental health incident.
A 42-year-old woman died after jumping into a well with her mother, who survived. The mother is recovering. Police suspect a mental health incident.
A 42-year-old woman died after jumping into a well with her mother, who survived. The mother is recovering. Police suspect a mental health incident.
Kannur: A 42-year-old woman with a history of mental illness died after she and her mother jumped into a well at their home in Chavanappuzha in Kurumathur panchayat near Taliparamba on Thursday afternoon.
The deceased was identified as Karayappath Chithrarekha (42). Her mother, Lakshmi (66), who survived by holding on to a rope inside the well, is undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Pariyaram, and is in stable condition.
According to the Taliparamba police, the incident occurred sometime before 3.30 pm at the family's house. Police suspect Chithrarekha, who had been undergoing treatment for mental illness for several years, jumped into the well first. Her mother is believed to have jumped in immediately afterwards to rescue her.
The incident might have gone unnoticed for several hours because the two women lived alone, said their neighbour, Sanjeevan P P. The alarm was raised by Lakshmi’s sister’s family, who call her every day. When their calls to Lakshmi’s phone went unanswered for long, they called their next-door relative, Amaya, to check on them. She found the front door locked from the outside and noticed there was no footwear outside the house. As she walked back, she saw the rope inside the well moving. On looking inside, she found both women in the water.
Sanjeevan, a carpenter who lives about 200 metres away, rushed to the house after being alerted. "I reached at 3.40 pm and climbed into the well. Chithrarekha was already dead. Lakshmi was still alive, holding on to the rope," he said.
Sanjeevan held on to Lakshmi for about 10 minutes, by which time the Fire and Rescue Service personnel arrived.
Sanjeevan said Chithrarekha's body slipped beneath the water when the rope was moved from above, forcing firefighters to recover it from the bottom of the well. Personnel from the Taliparamba Fire and Rescue Services, assisted by residents, pulled both women out and rushed them to the Taliparamba Taluk Hospital.
Doctors declared Chithrarekha dead on arrival, while Lakshmi was later shifted to Kannur Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram. Police have registered a case of unnatural death.