Kerala: 56-year-old woman daringly climbs 40-foot well to save husband from drowning; Here's how

Kochi: A 56-year-old woman, PK Padmam, displayed incredible courage when she climbed into a 40-foot deep well to save her unconscious husband, 64-year-old Ramesan Nair EK after he fell in. She held on to him until help arrived, demonstrating a remarkable presence of mind.

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The incident occurred on Tuesday in Piravom while Ramesan, a retired policeman, and Padmam were harvesting pepper from their property. Around 3 p.m., Ramesan was on a Mexican lilac tree near the well, plucking pepper, while Padmam was gathering pepper from another tree nearby with a relative. Suddenly, the tree Ramesan was standing on collapsed, causing him to fall into the well.

Upon hearing the loud crash, Padmam quickly ran to the well and called out to her husband. Ramesan reassured her that he was okay, prompting her to throw him a plastic rope to help him climb out. However, he mentioned feeling weak and experiencing pain in his left leg. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Padmam instructed their relative to notify the fire brigade and neighbors for assistance.

Recalling the incident while recovering in the hospital on Wednesday, Ramesan shared, as quoted by TOI, "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 immediately took action. "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.

Without hesitation, Padmam tied a plastic rope to a tree, and holding on to it, she 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.

Without wasting any time, Padmam jumped into the water and located her husband. She managed to lift him, and together they leaned against the well wall, ensuring that his head remained 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.

Fire brigade personnel lowered a net into the well to lift Ramesan out, followed by rescuing Padmam. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment and are expected to be discharged on Thursday.