PUNJIRIMATTOM: Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded as rescuers reached the hinterlands of Meppadi after getting access to the landslide-affected areas with the opening of the Bailey Bridge at Chooralmala. The rescuers reached Punjirimattom village, the epicentre of the landslides, on Thursday. There were over 50 houses at Punjirimattom, the top station bordering the forest. Now, only less than 10 houses remain after the landslide on Tuesday swept everything away.
After the tragedy struck, full-fledged rescue operation could be made possible in the village only on Thursday. “The most severe impact of the landslide was in Punjirimattom. The epicentre can be seen from here. On Tuesday early morning we first heard a growling sound for around 20 minutes which was followed by the first landslide. We managed to shift over 100 persons to safer places after the first landslide. But the second one was more devastating. At least over 50 are dead and missing from the village,” Alavi, a 74-year-old resident, said.
Khalid, a native of Meppadi, arrived at Punjirimattom after coming to know that full-fledged search operation had started in the village. He was desperately searching for his kin, but he could not even identify the house where his brother Jafoor and four family members lived. “I could only see the roofs of some houses. I could not identify the house of my brother and could not recognise the terrain. There were several houses here but none is seen now. The body of one of our relatives was found one kilometre away at Mundakkai,” he said.
Punjirimattom resident Ranshid, who lost his sister and her two children in the disaster, said that before the landslide struck, water started entering houses. “Seeing the gushing water, we feared that a landslide was imminent. After the first landslide, mud flowed into the house. It was in the second landslide that large stones rolled down from the hills above the village. The number of people who died will be very high here,” Ranshid said.