Kendrapada/Berhampur: Call it luck, destiny or divine intervention, two elderly people clung on to life for 12 hours amid the catastrophic flood, before they were rescued in separate incidents over the weekend.The flood in Brahmani and a 12-hour ordeal of floating 25 km through the powerful current of the crocodile-infested river couldn’t deter a 78-year-old Jajpur woman to fight for her life.Kasi Dalei of Kalakhanda village under Bari police station, who was swept away in the river on Saturday night was rescued, 25 km away in Kendrapada district around 10am on Sunday.As luck would have it, fishermen Abhijit Sahoo (27) and Sudhhir Mallick (42) of Balipatna village under Pattamundai block in Kendrapada district saw the woman floating in the floodwater on Sunday, before they pulled her to safety.She was found in an extremely weak and exhausted, and immediately taken to the nearby subdivisional hospital at Pattamundai. Her condition is reported to be stable, said Dr Nirakar Parida, the medical officer of the hospital.Her miraculous survival story soon went viral on social media, after which her family members reached Pattamundai hospital. “She was attending nature’s call near the river around 9 pm on Saturday when she was swept away while we were asleep, ” said Mania Dalei (56) son of the rescued woman, praising the courage and selfless efforts of the two fishermen.In another incident, a 65-year-old fisherman, who went missing in Ghodahada river near Hinjili in Ganjam district, was rescued by his family members after 12 hours on Saturday.Prakash Chandra Behera, a resident of Khandara, survived by holding the bushes on a sandbar in the river near his village.After being rescued, he was first admitted to the subdivisional hospital, Hinjili, and later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. His condition was serious, as he suffered from a brain stroke, medical sources said. Since his disappearance, he could not eat anything and survived on drinking the river water, sources said here on Sunday.Mitu Behera, son of the victim, said his father went to the sea for fishing about 4pm on Friday. When he could not return till late evening, he reported it to the fire personnel. Even though the firefighters searched in the river for several hours, they could not trace him. The next morning he, along with some villagers, started to search for him, when they found him clutching the bushes in the middle of the floodwater.Mitu said the water level of the river was not high when he went fishing. “Even though his condition is serious at present, we are praying to god for his survival,” his son said.
