NILAMBUR: Four days have passed since seven of his family, including wife and son, were washed away by a massive landslide at Kavalappara. But Sunil has refused to leave the site and he stands staring at the red mud. It takes a miracle for him to see his dear ones alive again, and the 35-year-old too knows it.
One can feel his hope and helplessness when he asks, “How can I leave here when my wife, son, father, sister and her kids are underneath this soil?”
Residents of Kavalappara are being shifted to relief camps and other safe settlements, but Sunil stays put at the site where bodies of 50 more are believed to be under the debris.
His dear ones — wife Santhakumari, 17-year-old son Sujith, 60-year-old father Anakkaran Palan, sister, her husband and two children — have left him and he is inconsolable.
“The landslide occurred with a heavy noise around 8 pm. Everything happened in the fraction of a second,” said a tearful Sunil.
He was at his wife’s house nearby when the tragedy struck. That saved his life, which he should feel has become pointless without his dear ones.
Adding to Sunil’s woes, search for his kin has not begun yet as the NDRF, police and Fire and Rescue personnel could not reach the spot until Sunday, with the road to the area having swept away completely. Same is the plight of nearly 20 families here. Rescue workers have started constructing a temporary way to the area, but it will take more time.
“I was born and brought up here, but have never heard of a tragedy like this in the area,” said Sunil as one finds it tough to console him.Similar heart-wrenching scenes unfolded at Kavalappara, where about 60 people have been feared killed in the big landslide that occurred on Thursday night.
Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded at Kavalappara, where about 60 people have been feared killed in the big landslide that occurred on Thursday night. For Pratheesh, of Uppada near Pothukallu, his 80-year-old grandmother Devayani, mother Ragini and brother Priyadarshan are still missing. Their house was demolished and the trio were trapped under it.
“Power was cut off and there’s been no communication facility since rain started. Hence, I could not talk to them. I heard the disaster occurred right after my brother, who is a graphic designer, got back home from office.” Pratheesh’s family had been looking for a marriage alliance for 32-year-old Priyadarshan. As rubber trees are lying uprooted, along with the mud, on top of their house, search operations will be herculean task. “I could reach here only on Sunday morning as the bridge connecting the road to this place was swept away in the rain,” said Pratheesh, standing in front of the debris of his house.
Four more bodies recovered
Four more bodies were recovered from the landslide area in Bhoothanam Colony near Kavalappara on Sunday. The deceased are Aleena Joji, 7; Muhammad Mathirikkulam, 45; Ragini, 55 and Aagatha Manuel, 55. Aagatha is a resident of Kollam and she had come to visit her daughter Raji in Kavalappara. The death toll from the landslide has now risen to 13.
According to police, a total of 63 people are trapped under the debris of the landslide. Thirty army officers from the Madras Regiment, 60 National Disaster Response Force officers, 130 police personnel and 60 fire safety officers are carrying out the rescue operations.
Meanwhile, two bodies were recovered from the landslip area of Kottakkunnu, a tourist destination in Malappuram town. The deceased were identified as Geetu, 22, and her two year-old-son Druvan.