Sorada: A 10-year-old physically challenged boy escaped from the jaws of death by a whisker as fire personnel rescued him while being swept away in Rushikulya river after three hours of operations on Sunday.
The boy identified as Lucky Dalabehera, son of Birat Dalabehera of Sankha Sahi, was rescued while being swept away, fire officer Krushna Nayak said. Later, Lucky was rushed to the Sorada government hospital where doctors pumped out water from his stomach and gave him the first aid.
The incident occurred when he escaped from home and reached the river bank without the knowledge of his family members.
Lucky was playing near the riverbank when he accidentally slipped and fell into the river which was in spate due to incessant rainfall over the last few days.
People on the riverbank watched him helplessly being swept away in the swirling waters and raised an alarm.
On being informed, fire personnel from Sorada swung into action and launched a rescue operation. They searched for him over a stretch of 2-km from the river bridge to Gopalpur Sasan village and finally rescued him near a temple. PNN