Will continue trekking, says Saranya; won't stop her from doing what she likes, say parents; Saranya reaches home

KOZHIKODE: Saranya, the Kozhikode native who was stranded for four days in a dense forest after losing her way while trekking at Tadiandamol Peak in Kodagu, has returned home. She arrived at her house in Nadapuram at around 1 am today. Speaking to the media, Saranya said that she would continue trekking in the future. Her parents also supported her decision and said that they would not stop her from doing what she likes. Saranya went missing on April 2 while trekking in the forest area of Kodagu, Karnataka.

Saranya, a software engineer based in Kochi, had arrived alone on April 1 to climb the Tadiandamol peak. She stayed at a homestay in Yavakapadi village near Napoklu. On the morning of April 2 at 8:15 am, she started trekking along with a group of nine people from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. While returning, Saranya walked down the hill while playing with a dog, while the rest of the group stayed slightly ahead. She tried to rejoin them by taking a different path from the left side, but could not find anyone.

She kept walking until 6:45 pm and tried calling a friend, but her phone had switched off. She only had a 500 ml bottle of water with her. After surviving alone in the forest for three nights, Saranya was found on Sunday afternoon by members of the rescue team. She spent the nights resting near a stream where elephants often come down from the hills to drink water and bathe. She survived by drinking water from the forest stream and remained calm, believing that rescuers would find her.

Saranya was unaware that people across Kerala were anxiously following news of her disappearance. She was eventually found deep inside the forest, about four kilometres from the base camp.