A family of four from Malappuram had a miraculous escape on Friday, as a huge tree fell over them at Marine drive in Kochi.
The father and mother, carrying their year and a half old child managed to run away from the spot as they heard the tree fall over, while their seven year old daughter who was trapped under the tree survived with only minor injuries.
The mishap took place at around 5 pm when the family came for boating in marine drive. They were sitting under the tree when it fell on them.
About 12 employees of the tourist boats nearby rushed to rescue the girl and pulled her out from under the tree. V P Raheesh, who came forward to rescue the child, said that the negligence of the GCDA officials lead to the accident.
“We asked the GCDA officials many times to cut the decaying tress in marine drive but all of our pleas fell on deaf eras. This has lead to the accident today. This has to be an eye opener for the authorities and they have to take immediate steps to remove the old trees on the drive and plant saplings instead”, he added.