Kochi: A man who accidentally fell from the third floor of a lodge in the city lay on the road heavily bleeding for 20 minutes as youngsters remained mere spectators on Saturday evening. It was finally the intervention of a woman advocate who pleaded with the passing vehicles to rush him to the hospital that saved his life. The incident happened around 6. 45 p.m. on Saturday when Saji Anto, 46, a native of Trippayar in Thrissur, fell from the lodge located in a lane behind Padma theatre beside MG Road.
Though a crowd, especially youngsters who came to the theatre was there, they remained mute spectators. “As my daughter and I stepped out of our house near the Padma junction to go to the nearest metro station, we heard the sound of someone falling to the ground. A crowd gathered there and I rushed to the scene. I was shocked to find that youngsters there were just remaining as spectators while a man was lying on the road heavily bleeding,” Ranjini Rama-chandran, 47, told DC.
Ranjini Ramachandran
She pleaded with the passing vehicles to stop and finally an autorickshaw driver heeded her request. “However, the man had suffered serious injuries on his head and elsewhere in his body while his left knee almost started coming out. So we decided not to risk his life by lifting him and taking him into the auto,” Ranjini said. Meanwhile, she rang up a private hospital where her spouse was one among the administrators and asked him to rush an ambulance to the spot.
“However, the ambulance had gone out at that time, but they said all arrangements will be done for treatment. I rushed out and again pleaded with a couple coming in an SUV to stop. They turned out to be good Samaritans, stopped the vehicle and we took the injured man to the hospital,” she said.
Saji was in a critical condition and after administering primary treatment, he was rushed to the Ernakulam General Hospital and from there to the Kottayam Medical College. His condition stabilized on Monday. Saji, who was staying away from his family for some time, told the media, “I had lost my job at Muringoor Dhyanakendram and come to Kochi on January 12 in search of a job. I accidentally fell from the top of the lodge and am grateful to the woman for saving my life,” he added.
