AN elderly woman miraculously dodged death by drinking rainwater after becoming trapped in a 10ft hole for eight days. Vulnerable Dona Geralda, 76, fell into a woodland “grotto” on the outskirts Curvelo, a city north of Rio, Brazil, but no one could hear her cries for help. After she went missing, her neighbors frantically checked […]
AN elderly woman miraculously dodged death by drinking rainwater after becoming trapped in a 10ft hole for eight days.
Vulnerable Dona Geralda, 76, fell into a woodland “grotto” on the outskirts Curvelo, a city north of Rio, Brazil, but no one could hear her cries for help.
After she went missing, her neighbors frantically checked local hospitals and even the morgue in a desperate bid to track her down.
They then pulled together a search party of local residents and scoured the local woods for their friend.
One neighbour- called Rosana – said: “We walked for ten minutes. The people who were with me shouted and she replied.”
Dona, who is diabetic and requires daily shots of insulin, was then found desperately clinging to a vine in the rain-filled hole.
One of the rescue team told journalists: “She was lucid, but she couldn’t explain how she got there.
“I asked how she survived and she replied ‘I drank rainwater…there was no other way'”.
After being pulled to safety by firefighters, Dona was taken to a nearby hospital for medical checks.
Doctors were amazed to find she did not suffer any fracture, injury or serious trauma despite her terrifying ordeal.
“She is doing very well, and everyone is very satisfied with her recovery,” said Dr Karina Rocha.
Dona lives alone, after her husband and two children died.
She has a caregiver, who works during the day, so she was not with her the morning she went missing.
