The suicide capital Kollam heaved a sigh of relief as seven girls survived a suicide attempt at Chakkuvally, near Sasthamkotta, on Saturday.
They were admitted to a private hospital in Sasthamkotta after they consumed poisonous ‘othalanga’ fruit (cerbera odollam). Their condition is stable and they have been placed under 24-hour observation in the ICU. The girls, aged between 13 and 16, are students of Govt Higher Secondary School, Poruvazhy, near here, and inmates of the government pre-matric hostel for girls run by the Scheduled Caste Development Department at Chakkuvally.
Sooranad police told Express that the girls had bunked the classes on Saturday to visit a friend’s house. Fearing that the teachers will tell the hostel warden about it, the girls consumed the fruit of an ‘othalanga’ tree located on the school compound. The girls later told this to a teacher in the school, who alerted the hostel warden. The warden took the girls to the private hospital, where they were given a stomach washout.