KOCHI: A 56-year-old woman climbed down into a 40ft deep well to prevent her unconscious husband, 64-year-old Ramesan Nair EK, from drowning after he fell into it. PK Padmam held on to him until help arrived, displaying remarkable bravery and presence of mind.
Ramesan, a retired policeman, and Padmam were harvesting pepper on their property in Piravom on Tuesday when the accident occurred. Around 3pm, Ramesan was atop a Mexican lilac tree near the well, plucking pepper from a vine growing on it, while Padmam was gathering pepper from another tree nearby with a relative. Suddenly, the tree Ramesan was on broke and he plunged into the well.
Hearing the loud thud, Padmam rushed to the well and called out to her husband. Ramesan told her he was fine and she threw him a plastic rope to help him climb up. However, he said he was feeling weak and had pain in his left leg. Realising the danger, Padmam asked their relative to alert the fire brigade and neighbours.
Recounting the incident while recovering in hospital on Wednesday, Ramesan said, “When I was falling, my head and back hit the side of the well. At first, I was conscious and could even stand in the well. The water was only waist-deep. But slowly, I started losing consciousness and began sinking.”
Padmam decided to act immediately. “My only thought was to prevent him from drowning. I could see he was slipping into unconsciousness. When his face touched the water, I asked him to look up, but there was no response,” she said.
Padmam tied a plastic rope to a tree and, holding onto it, climbed down into the well to reach her husband.
“It was a plastic rope, and I started to descend while making sure he was safe… But soon, I lost my grip on the rope and fell until I reached the third or fourth ring of the well. When I looked down, I couldn’t see my husband — I saw only water,” said Padmam who sustained injuries to her hands with the rope cutting into her skin.
She immediately jumped into the water and found her husband. She lifted him and they both leaned against the well wall, ensuring that his head stayed above the water.
“I checked on him and found that he was unconscious but breathing. I told him, ‘I am with you. I won’t let you go. Please open your eyes’. Slowly, he regained consciousness. Soon, fire brigade personnel arrived and rescued us,” said Padmam.
The fire brigade personnel lowered a net into the well and lifted Ramesan up before rescuing Padmam. Both were admitted to hospital for treatment and are likely to be discharged on Thursday.
