IDUKKI: Heavy rain that lashed Santhanpara on Sunday caused widespread destruction claiming the life of one resident. Roy, 55, of Santhanpara, was sleeping inside his residence when a mudslip occurred near his house. The wall of the house collapsed on Ravi who got trapped under the debris.
“As Ravi was staying alone, his neighbours came to know about the incident only on Monday morning. Though rescue operations were launched immediately, his life could not be saved. Later, his body was recovered by rescuers,” an official with the district disaster management told TNIE.
Landslides were also reported in Pethotty and Dalam areas around 9 pm on Sunday. “As people ran away from their landslide-hit houses, no other fatalities occurred,” Santhanpara panchayat president Liju Varghese said.
According to Liju, Santhanpara has never witnessed such a disaster even in 2018. “The landslide triggered in Pethotty has destroyed nearly 20 hectares of agri land. Around 10 houses in the area have suffered partial damage. Road connectivity and power supply were completely affected,” he said. He also said that a total of 9 hectares of land had been completely washed away in the landslide.
Emergency Rescue Team turns lifesavers
Sunday would have turned tragic for a six-member family residing at Pethotty were it not for the Emergency Response Team (ERT) of Santhanpara panchayat.
The family comprising two children, one of them just eight months old, and their parents and grandparents, were in their home at Pethotty en route to the forest office in Mathikettan Shola at night, when rainwater gushed inside the house following a landslide. The family swiftly moved to the attic on the upper floor even as the ground floor got submerged within seconds.
The family sought help from the police, who in turn contacted Asish Varghese, the team leader of the ERT. An eight-member rescue team was dispatched to the location.
“Usually during calamities like landslides, we receive distress calls too late which delays rescue operations. This time, however, we got the call from the police around 9.10 pm, just 10 minutes after the landslide occurred,” Asish said.
He said the team that reached the spot initially tried to smash the sheet on the roof and rescue the family but failed. We smashed the windows with a hammer and rescued all six of them,” Asish said.