Thenmala, Kollam: Getting lost in the forest is one of the scariest things. A 23-year-old youth from Kerala's Kottayam district feared the worst as he lost his way in the deep woods near Rosemala at Thenmala in the southern Kollam district. After frantically looking for a way out one whole night the young man was rescued early the next morning, 17 hours later.

Sumesh, 23, son of Kochumon, a native of Puthupally in Kottayam, went missing from near the lighthouse on the Aaryankaavu-Rosemala stretch around 4pm on Sunday.

Sumesh along with his friend Ajesh had arrived at Rosemala for sightseeing on their bike on Sunday. They stopped for a while to take rest during the return journey. The duo then went off in different directions to take photos of the greenery around.

While Sumesh was in the forest taking photos, he said he heard some movements behind and feared some danger was lurking.

Scared for his life, Sumesh took off. Frightened that he was being chased by a wild animal, Sumesh ran through the forest and jumped over any obstacle before him. He stopped only when he ran out of breath. Sumesh then tried to call his friend but realised that there was no mobile network in the area.

Lost in the woods

Sumesh walked ahead with no clue about the direction. Hoping that he might get some mobile range up in the tree, Sumesh tried to climb one. But had to abandon his attempt half-way through after he suffered injuries to his neck.

He then sat on one of the branches and tried making phone calls to Ajesh but in vain. Finally, after several attempts, he was able to get through to the police emergency number.

Immediately, he was connected to SI V S Praveen. The cop assured Sumesh that the police would be there soon as he understood the location and asked him not to worry.

"But none came even after nightfall. I climbed on to another tall tree. Trembling with fear, I fell down several times. But then again climbed up," Sumesh recounted.

Around 6.30am the next day, Sumesh went up to a stream he had seen the previous evening. He drank water from it and continued to walk.

"I don't know how much distance I had covered. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a two-wheeler.

"Relieved that they had seen me, I sat down. They came towards me and took me on the vehicle. I was taken to the revenue department's vehicle. There I saw Ajesh and that's when I finally realised that I had indeed escaped." Sumesh concluded with a sigh.