Balasore, Oct. 19: “I knew I would never die. It was the self-confidence that helped me to fight against the furious flood of river Budhabalanga”.

These were the words of a thirty-five-year-old braveheart of a nondescript remote village in this coastal district.

He is Ranjit Jena of Malad village under Odingi gram panchayat of Sadar block.

Jena, a daily wage earner, was caught amid the swirling water of river Budhabalanga on Monday afternoon. He was swept way in the strong current while he was returning home with dry food for his family. He caught hold of an electric pole and clung onto it for 18 hours till he was rescued by fellow villagers the next morning.

There was waist-deep water on the road. Jena got trapped in the water currents while crossing the road. He tried to swim, but in vein.

“I thought I would cross the water. But I was pulled into the swirling water suddenly with a jerk. I know swimming and tried to swim across. But I could not,” he recalled.

Jena’s wife and three children, who were at home, were not aware that he was caught in the deep floodwater.

Local ward member Laxmidhar Sethi said: “Though the villagers came to know that he was swept away by floodwater, no one could dare to venture into the furious water current that night. He was rescued when the water receded slightly next morning.”