'Adventure camp offered no first aid'

Somya Jain Gupta (26), who broke her back attempting a rope activity, had to undergo surgery. Soon after emerging from the operation theatre, she spoke to 'Metrolife' about her painful ordeal. I was looking forward to the long Republic Day weekend. My husband Divyansh Gupta and I had signed up online for Nature Adventure Camp at Kanakapura.

My younger sister Shreya came from Indore and my friend Shweta and her husband came from Hyderabad to take part in the camp on January 28.

Five activities were looped one after the other. Shweta, Shreya and Divyansh went before me. I successfully completed my first rope activity and reached a tower.

I had to cross a Burma loop bridge. I took two or three steps but felt exhausted. I was balancing with one foot on the front rope and the other on the back.

I didn't have the strength to move forward. I asked one of the organisers to pull me back. He was clueless. I was in ducking position.

After 10 minutes of being stuck mid-air, he asked me to let go of my hand and hang onto the rope in front of me. The moment I held this rope, he pulled another rope. My rope snapped. The next thing I remember is that I had landed with a thud on my back.

Shweta saw this. Divyansh was in the middle of his activity and was helpless. I was conscious. My back was aching terribly and I couldn't move it. I was wearing a helmet, or I would banged my head on a granite wall.

Fellow campers and organisers quickly gathered around me. I couldn't move. Divyansh was perhaps the only one who knew it was a back injury, and a serious one at that. The boys hired by the camp organiser were all between 12 and 19 years, and stood around helplessly.

When Divyansh asked for an ambulance or doctor they had no answer. They offered to lift me and put me in a car. But Divyansh insisted I be moved only on a stretcher or a wooden plank. The organisers didn't have either at hand.

The only first aid they provided was Move, a pain balm. It was of no use. We had to find a way to get to hospital. The staff were not trained in first aid or safety and didn't know what to do in an emergency. It was a nightmare.

I have just undergone surgery and been advised bed rest for two months.

(As told to Nina C George)