Mangaluru: High drama prevailed at a city apartment on Thursday, June 7 after a frantic call was made to the fire department informing them about a 12-year-old lone girl who was not responding to repeated knocks at the door.

The incident took place on Thursday evening, at the Abhiman Mansion apartment on Bejai Church road. The girl’s (Prashansa’s) parents are both employed, and when her mother returned from work at around 5 pm in the evening, she found that the door was locked from the inside. When repeated knocks at the door failed to incite any response from Prashansa, the worried mother sought help from Vinay Gaonkar, a retired police officer who lives in the vicinity. Gaonkar duly alerted the fire department who rushed their personnel to the spot, well aware of the fact that time plays a crucial role in such cases.

Without wasting any time, the fire personnel made use of the aerial ladder to gain entry into the fourth-floor apartment and found that the girl was fast asleep.

The 20-minute rescue mission was carried out by a team of four officers and 15 firemen and was guided by Chief fire officer of the city division, T N Shivashankar.