A 30-year-old man slipped and fell into the Cooum river in Chennai on Tuesday, August 10, and was stuck in the sludge for about eight hours before he was rescued. I Karthik, a daily wage labourer was taking a selfie at the Napier Bridge wall when the mishap occurred at 10 pm on Tuesday.
As per reports, Karthik, who is a resident of Periamet, held on to one of the pillars of the bridge as he was neck-deep in the sludge and was screaming for help. However, his cries for help went unheard for hours, until at 6 am on Wednesday morning passers-by heard him, found him stranded in the water, and informed the police.
Police officials at the check post near the War Memorial responded to the situation. Sub-inspector Kumar and constable Chinnasamy went to the spot to rescue Karthik. They are attached to the Anna Square Police Station. The officials rescued Karthik by sending down a rope which he tied around his waist, and then pulled him up.
What had made Karthik’s situation even more difficult was that he dropped his mobile phone into the river, and was unable to make a call for help. He told the police that the incident had occurred when he was taking a selfie leaning on the parapet of the bridge. A police official told TOI that Karthik had ended up leaning too far back while trying to capture the large well-lit portion as the backdrop of his photo. As the phone slipped from his hand, Karthik too fell into the river while trying to hold on to the device.
SI Kumar told The New Indian Express that he had actually come near the Napier Bridge around 1 pm on Tuesday and dispersed some of the people who, like Karthik, were taking selfies. After Karthik was rescued, he was made to bathe at a common toilet near the beach and then was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Police then sent him home.