Trapped in lift for 42 hours, Kerala man pens farewell letter to wife, sons
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravindran Nair, a 59-year-old Communist Party of India (CPI) leader from Thirumala, endured a harrowing 42-hour ordeal after getting trapped in a malfunctioning lift at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, which has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities and failures within the hospital's infrastructure.
The incident occurred from noon on Saturday, July 13, to the early hours of Monday, July 15, when Ravindran had visited the Medical College for a consultation regarding his back pain. He was accompanied by his wife, Sreelekha, who works as a cashier at the hospital, however, when the doctor asked for the blood test reports, Ravindran decided to fetch them from home himself. Upon returning to the hospital, he entered the defunct lift, which jammed mid-air.
Ravindran's repeated cries for help got no response and his attempts to contact emergency numbers also failed as his phone was out of coverage inside the lift. The senior leader managed to survive by finding a steady air supply and a cool corner within the lift, enduring the physical discomforts and emotional distress of his entrapment.
In a poignant moment, believing he might not survive, Ravindran wrote a farewell note to his wife and sons, urging his sons to strive for greater heights and reminding Sreelekha to publish her poems.
His ordeal ended on Monday morning, when a hospital staff member, Jayanandan, heard his cries and helped him out of the lift. Ravindran, physically exhausted and mentally strained, immediately sought water and tea, after his rescue.
Ravindran's story took on a deeper resonance as he learned about Joy, a sanitation worker, who was drowned in a canal in Thiruvananthapuram, and Arjun, a truck driver trapped under a mudslide in Karnataka. Reflecting on these parallel tragedies, Ravindran expressed his gratitude for his survival while mourning those who were not as fortunate.
Following his rescue, Ravindran received visits from several dignitaries, including the state secretary of the CPI and Health Minister Veena George, to whom he suggested the establishment of a control room for handling such emergencies.
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
