PATHANAMTHITTA: In an unexpected turn of events, a 19-year-old youth jumped into a swollen river from a bridge while his friend was filming reels on his mobile phone. He was later rescued by fire and rescue service personnel and local residents.
The youth, identified as Akhil, also known as Sudhimon, is a native of Elimullumplakkal near Thannithodu. He leaped into the Kallar River from the Mundonmoozhy bridge near Thannithodu in the district around 3 pm on Wednesday even without giving any hint to his friend Abhijit who was filming him upon his request.
As Abhijit informed about the incident to others, fire and rescue officials rushed from Konni while local residents and police also started search operations. The reckless stunt ended in a dramatic rescue operation by fire force and Scuba teams.
In the video that went viral, Akhil is seen running towards the bridge and jumping into the river.
According to a fire and rescue official, the teen who must have thought he might have executed the act well, later lost control upon hitting the water and struggled to stay afloat.
“Luckily for the youth, he got stuck inside a cluster of rocks around one kilometre downstream. He was first spotted by a forest watcher who heard the youth wailing while searching the area,” he said.
The youth, who broke one of his legs in the incident, was soon shifted to a nearby hospital.