NEW DELHI: For 15 days, Sunaina Devi (55) survived on river water and the fragile shelter of a half-submerged thatched hut, after being swept 50km downstream by the monsoon-swollen Ganga.

She was found alive Monday by fishermen who heard her cries.Devi, from Kapurpatti village in Bihar's Buxar district, had gone to bathe on Aug 30 when the current pulled her under. Her son, Govinda Gond, filed a missing person report at Itarhi police station. Her family did not know she had drifted across the state border into Chain Chhapra village in UP's Ballia, on the other side of the river, soon after falling in.In Chain Chhapra, Devi managed to grab an abandoned hut in a field and pull herself up.

Surrounded by floodwater, she survived by drinking from the same Ganga that had nearly drowned her.On Monday she collapsed and slipped once again into floodwater. Mallah fishermen in boats heard her chants of "Shivguru-Sh-ivguru", spotted her behind sarpat grass and pulled her aboard.

Hunger strike studies in British Medical Journal say with water intake, the body can survive without food for 21 to 40 days."It was miraculous," Haldi SHO Rajiv Kumar Rai told TOI. Police gave her food and water and determined her identity.

The family had feared the worst. "There was no update for so many days we genuinely thought we'd lost her," Govinda said.Police said relatives broke down in tears when they saw her. "They were not expecting to find her alive. The reunion was emotional and raw," Rai said.Her husband, Janardhan, a farmer, told TOI, "Deep down, there was still a flickering hope."Devi is still dazed. "It feels like my mind stops at one place. It was very difficult to be alone for so many days. I didn't know I had such strength in me," she says.Her family says she remains weak. Doctors expect the disorientation to ease in a few days.