MALAPPURAM: Malappuram on Tuesday woke up to the sad news of the death of two small siblings at Mathamkulam near Karipur after the bedroom wall of their house collapsed on them. The incident occurred around 4.30am.
Sisters Liyana Fathima, 7, a class 2 student of PMS AM LP School, Peruvallur, and seven-month-old Lubana Fathima and their mother Sumayya, 28, were sleeping in the room. The area has been receiving heavy rain since Monday.
The compound wall of the house collapsed first and fell on the bedroom wall of the house. The bedroom wall also collapsed under the impact and fell on the children and mother. Other family members and neighbours managed to pull out all three of them. They were rushed to Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital but the children died on the way. “The children were retrieved from under the debris. Sumayya was also partially buried and pulled out. She regained consciousness after we administered her first aid. The children were unconscious when we were taking them to the hospital,” said a neighbour.
Hundreds of people reached nearby Kadappadi when the children’s bodies were kept at the house of their father Aboobacker Siddique’s family for the public to pay homage from 4.30pm. “No one could withhold the tears. I am not able to forget the smiling faces of the children,” said Palikkal panchayat president Muhammed Ali. He said the panchayat will extend all support to the family to overcome this difficult period.
The bodies were buried at Punnath Juma Masjid, Mathamkulam. Sumayya’s father Chonary Muhammed Kutty, mother Fathima and sister Hafsath and aunt Jameela were sleeping in other rooms when the incident happened. Siddique was in Kasaragod as part of his job. Siddique and Sumayya started constructing a house near her family’s house recently. The compound wall separates the two plots.
“Siddique and Sumayya wanted to live near her house. They have completed the construction of the foundation. They planned to complete construction as soon as possible and shift to the house with their two children,” said Noorudheen, a neighbour.