KENDRAPARA / JAJPUR: In what can only be described as a miraculous tale of survival, a 71-year-old woman cheated death after battling the ferocious currents of a swollen, crocodile-infested river for over two hours.
The harrowing ordeal began when the elderly woman, identified as Kesi Dalai (also noted in reports as Kasi Dalei) from Kalamatiya village under Jajpur district’s Bari block, went near the banks of the Birupa river.
Swept away instantly by the aggressive currents, Dalai drifted nearly 22 kilometers downstream across district boundaries into Balipatana village within the Kendrapara district.
Realizing the immediate danger—especially given that the Birupa river is notoriously inhabited by wild crocodiles—alert local youth and fishermen didn't hesitate.
The rescuers successfully pulled a pale, exhausted, and semi-conscious Dalai into their boat and brought her safely ashore.
She was rushed via an emergency ambulance to the Pattamundai Sub-Divisional Hospital, where medical officers noted that despite severe exhaustion, her condition quickly stabilized.
"I felt dizzy and fell into the river," Dalai recounted from her hospital bed, expressing immense gratitude to her saviors.
Local authorities and community members have widely lauded the swift intervention and bravery of the youth and fishermen, calling her survival against both heavy floods and deadly predators an absolute miracle.
