Kochi: Man jumps into backwaters, rescued

KOCHI: Anil Babu (54) from Mattancherry was rescued by the coastal police after he reportedly jumped into the backwaters around 9am on Tuesday and remained afloat for over half-an-hour.
After Thoppumpady police informed about the incident, coastal police launched a rescue operation and found him thrashing around in the backwaters off Willingdon Island. “He was exhausted after bobbing up and down for quite a while.It seems he knew swimming otherwise he couldn’t have stayed afloat this long,” said a coastal police officer, adding that he had swallowed a lot of water.
The officer gave him first aid, forced the water out of him and rushed him to the general hospital, where he was given treatment.
ASI Jagathikumar, CPO Vijeesh and boat crew Dileep, Rajesh, Sujesh, Happyraj and Josy conducted the rescue operation. The exact reason for the man’s action remains unknown.