A 23-year-old youngster named Sumesh who was trapped in the forest near Rosemala at Thenmala in the southern Kollam district rescued after 17 hours. Sumesh, son of Kochumon, has been missing since Sunday at 4 pm near the lighthouse on the Aryankavu-Rosemala road.

Sumesh and his friend Ajesh came on a bike to see Rosemala on Sunday. On their way back, they stopped for a while to rest. Then they moved in two directions to capture a few clicks of the forest footage. While Sumesh was taking photos in the forest, he feared that he was being chased by a wild animal, and he ran through the forest.

After he lost a clue about the direction, he tried to call his friend. As there was no mobile network in the area, he tried to climb up on a tree hoping to get some mobile range. After several failed attempts to contact his friend, he was able to get through to the police emergency number. Since nobody turned up, he himself made way to the road nearby by the next day morning at 6.30 a.m.

In the words of Sumesh:

"Something was moving as we ventured into the forest to take a few photographs. It seemed to be getting closer. I ran away without remembering anything. I felt a wild animal chasing me. When I lost I stopped running. When I tried to call Ajesh, I realized that the phone was out of range. I walked forward without knowing the directions. I tried to climb up a tree, to get a mobile network. But halfway up there, my neck was wounded.

I tried to call Ajesh so many times but failed. After much effort, I called the police emergency number and told them. Thenmala SI VS Praveen's picked up the call and he understood the place I was in. He promised that he would arrive soon. It was night, and no one came. When I felt the tree that I was in was unsafe, I went down. I climbed up a little bigger tree. In the meantime, I fell down several times because I was dead scared.

By the next day, around 6.30 am, I reached the stream that I had seen the day before. Drank some water from there and walked further. I suddenly heard sound of a two-wheeler and made way to a nearby road. Those who came in the two-wheeler saw me. I sat down on the road as they neared me. They took me along and transported me to the revenue department. There I met Ajesh too. That's when I really believed that I got my life back. "