Kakdwip, Nov. 1: Two-and-a-half-year-old Zahida Khatoon drifted on a wooden plank on a cold river for two hours before being rescued by fishermen.

Zahida, a resident of Anandanagar in South 24-Parganas, was one of the 220 people on board the trawler that capsized in the Hooghly near Kakdwip on Saturday. “Joley porey gelam, tarporey kath ta dhorlam (I fell into the water and then grabbed a piece of wood),” Zahida said, sitting in the warmth of her home.

Zahida smiled when asked how big the plank was. She stretched her little arms to indicate the size. Her grandfather Mahmood Ali Lashkar said the plank probably came loose from the capsized trawler. Mahmood, 73, said rescue workers had told him some fishermen on a trawler had spotted an unconscious Zahida on the plank, around two hours after the accident. “They picked her up and wrapped her in a piece of cloth to keep her warm. Then they took her to Kakdwip subdivisional hospital.”

Zahida’s mother Sanoara, 30, said she had held her daughter tightly when the “trawler tilted after being hit by big waves”.

“But I lost balance and fell into the river with Zahida. As I struggled to remain afloat, I realised Zahida was no longer with me. I scrambled onto a wooden plank and lost consciousness after some time. When I came to, I found myself in Kakdwip subdivisional hospital,” Sanoara said. “When I opened my eyes, I saw my father-in-law. I asked him about my daughter and he pointed towards a bed nearby. I saw Zahida sleeping in the bed. I rushed to her and gave her a hug,” she said.

Mahmood said he had lost his wife, two grandsons and a granddaughter in the disaster. “Sixteen of my family members are still missing,” he said.