Sambalpur: Sounds incredible, but true. An 18-year-old girl of Sarangarh area of Chhattisgarh, who had slipped into deep waters Mahanadi on Tuesday evening, was rescued alive by three Odisha fishermen from Hirakud reservoir, about 50 km from her locality, after 12 hours on Wednesday morning.
Talking to OTV today, the teenage girl, Soni Yadav, who is presently admitted to a hospital at Lakhanpur, said she had come to Maa Chandrahasini temple on Tuesday evening for a darshan of the goddess.
“After reaching the temple, I had gone to the river bank to wash my hands and legs when a stone on which I was standing suddenly slipped. At this, I lost my balance and fell into the river. As the river current was very high I could not swim towards the river bank and the river current pushed me further into the deep waters. I had no other way except keeping my head above the water to breathe while swimming. I was desperately praying to the God for help as the river current drifted me far from the river bank. There was no one in the sight. I cannot describe the ordeal and the trauma I had undergone while remaining in the water the whole night,” Soni said.
The brave girl thanked the three fishermen of Kushamela village under Rengali police limits who spotted her in Hirakud reservoir on early Wednesday morning and took her to a nearby Primary Health Centre (PHC) for first aid.
Later, the girl was shifted to a government hospital at Lakhanpur where her condition is stated to be stable.
Meanwhile, Rengali police, with the help of Chhattisgarh police, has informed the family members of Soni.