“I stared death in the face and doubted if we could make it out alive. I regard this as my second life.”
With tear-filled eyes, Princemon recounted the anxious moments he, along with 19 others, faced while they were stranded on the terrace of a two-storied building near Ranni in Pathanamthitta for an entire day, as they hoped help would come their way.
He led a team of relieved youngsters to a relief camp at the Government Higher Secondary School for Boys in Chala, where they were brought after being rescued from the Indian Air Force from the flood-ravaged area.
Princemon, an accountant at the Father’s House International Theological Seminary in Thottamon, around 3 km away from Ranni, could not believe his eyes as he found the flood waters entering the seminary at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. The water level rose in no time, prompting the residents to move to the second floor and later, to the terrace.
“The situation was unprecedented in Ranni. We have been hearing of the floods that have affected the other parts of the State, but never for a moment had we thought one would endanger our lives. By the time we could alert the authorities, the area had became inaccessible by road.” he recounts.
They were finally airlifted in a helicopter that reached the building by around 6.30 a.m. on Thursday. The rescue team could not reach four students who were stranded in a building opposite the seminary.
