PUTHUMALA: Thirty-eight-year-old Aksar Kannankadan is unable to relax, even for a moment. He sits down, suddenly gets up and walks frantically to and fro, looks up to the sky and shakes head frequently, giving the impression of a restless soul.
Aksar, who made an emergency return from Riyadh on Friday, has been behaving this way for the past four days as there is no clue about his father Aboobacker Kannankadan, 60, who went missing in the landslide that hit Puthumala on Thursday.
Several local residents had seen the car in which Aboobacker and neighbour Avaran, 62, were travelling being washed away by gushing water following the landslide. “Though half a dozen cars that were damaged in the landslide were recovered from the spot, there is no information about Aboobacker’s car or the passengers inside,” Aboobacker’s brother, Abdul Aziz, told Express.
On Sunday noon, someone was heard saying that a portion of a white car was found 1.5 km away at Eelavayal. Askar frantically ran towards the person, asking, “Was there anyone inside the car?” The reply was “No”.
“Aboobacker is a jovial person. After toiling for years in the Middle East, he had returned to Puthumala to lead a peaceful life. His two daughters were married off. Aksar is his only son. Affability and talkative nature made Aboobacker a dear to all,” reminisced Ayyappan R, a local resident.
On Sunday, rescuers recovered the body of a woman, Rani, from the landslide debris. Still, seven more people are believed to be trapped under the debris.
Like Aksar, there are many emotionally-choked kin who anxiously wait on the banks of the muddy stream, formed after the landslide, with eyes fixed at the combing work.