Bhadrak: In a remarkable tale of survival, a man who was swept away by the floodwaters of the Pochara River in Odisha’s Bhadrak district was rescued on Tuesday after spending five days clinging to a palm tree, officials said.
The survivor, identified as Sunanda Behera, a resident of Balipatana village under Arjunpur Gram Panchayat in Dhamnagar block, had gone missing after being caught in the strong currents of the overflowing river.
Villagers had carried out extensive searches for Behera over the past several days but failed to locate him. As hopes of finding him alive began to fade, a group of villagers travelling by boat through the Bajapati field area spotted a man holding on to a palm tree surrounded by floodwaters.
The villagers were stunned to discover that the man was Behera, who had managed to survive for five days in the flooded area by clinging to the tree.
He was subsequently rescued and brought to safety. His survival has come as a relief to his family and local residents amid the flood situation in the district.
