PALAKKAD: The death of two persons in a flash flood in Oman on Saturday has cast a pall of gloom over their native villages in Thrithala, with residents and relatives expressing deep grief over the tragedy. The deceased have been identified as Thacharathodiyil Yusuf, 36, a native of Mezhathur, and Maliyekkal Shamla, 32, from Koottanad.
Yusuf’s mother, Ramla, 59, who was travelling with them, remains missing, and search operations are continuing. According to relatives, the incident occurred in Barka, near Muscat. Yusuf and the family of his close friend Lubishad, son of Thrithala block panchayat member Maliyekkal Bava, were returning after visiting a friend’s house as part of Eid celebrations when their vehicle was caught in a sudden flash flood.
The group was travelling in a Nissan Patrol carrying nine passengers. Six people, including Lubishad and four children, managed to escape to safety. However, Yusuf and Shamla were swept away by the powerful floodwaters, while Ramla went missing. The vehicle was later found nearly two kilometres away from the accident site, indicating the intensity of the flood.
Shamla was the wife of Lubishad, a leader of the cultural organisation INCAS in Oman. Both families are known to have shared a close relationship and had been residing in Oman for several years. Ramla had moved to Muscat only last year along with her husband to stay with her son Yusuf.
Relatives said as per the latest information from Oman, the rescue teams, including personnel from Oman’s Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority, have been carrying out intensive search operations to locate Ramla. The search has been particularly challenging due to the proximity of the accident site to the sea and the force of the floodwaters.
The tragedy occurred amid a severe weather system that lashed Oman with heavy rain, thunderstorms and winds reaching speeds of up to 155 km/h. The downpour caused wadis, or dry riverbeds, to overflow suddenly, triggering dangerous flash floods that swept away several vehicles. Authorities had issued high alerts and activated emergency response systems as large areas, including parts of Muscat such as Qurum, were inundated. More than 40 people stranded in rising waters were rescued.
The bodies of Yusuf and Shamla are currently kept at a government hospital mortuary in Barka. Efforts are under way to repatriate Shamla’s body to Kerala on Monday. Yusuf’s body will be brought to Kerala once Ramla is rescued, said local body representatives.
The news of the tragedy has brought profound sorrow to Koottanad and Mezhathur, where people gathered to support the bereaved families.
Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan has sought urgent intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter. Thrithala MLA and Minister for Local Self-Government M B Rajesh also expressed condolences.