KOCHI: A 56-year-old woman courageously descended into a well using a rope to rescue her husband, who had accidentally fallen into it while plucking pepper in Piravom on Tuesday. Padmam, a resident of Elanjikavil, entered the well to rescue her husband Ramesan, 66, a retired policeman.
According to a source, the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the 8th ward of Piravom municipality. Ramesan and his wife, who reside in Muvattupuzha, had come to their property in Piravom to harvest pepper.
While plucking pepper near the edge of a 40-ft-deep well, Ramesan accidentally fell into it. Hearing his cries for help, Padmam, who was plucking pepper on the other side of the property, rushed to the place and found that her husband had fallen into the deep well.
As nearby residents who arrived at the place after hearing her cries stood there unsure of what to do, Padmam took it upon herself to descend into the well using a rope attached to draw water.
However, midway through her descent, she lost her grip on the rope and fell into the water as well. Despite sustaining injuries on her palms, Padmam supported her husband, who sustained a head injury from the fall, holding him in her arms until the fire and rescue team arrived.
“When we arrived at the accident spot, we were initially surprised by her courage. In such cases, it is usually one of our team members who enters the well. But here, she insisted that she would save her husband herself and only wanted to lower a rescue basket into the well for assistance,” said a fire and rescue officer, who wished to remain anonymous. Fortunately, the well had only about 5 ft of water, preventing a more severe outcome, he added.