TIRUVANNAMALAI: The bodies of the two women who were swept away on Sunday by a flash flood in Parvathamalai, the hill located in Thenmadimangalam village near Kalasapakkam in Tiruvannamalai district, were recovered on Monday morning. The deceased have been identified as Indira (53) and Sangathamizhselvi, also assumed to be in her fifties.
Speaking to TNIE, Collector K Tharpagaraj said the two women were part of an 18-member group from Velappanchavadi village near Tiruverkadu in Chennai visiting the Lord Mallikarjuna Temple at the Parvathamalai hilltop. Their bodies were found nearly 2 km away from the spot where the incident occurred, added the Collector. He also informed that the post-mortem happened at Tiruvannamalai Medical College, following which, the bodies were handed over to their families.
The search operation by the fire department began on Sunday evening but was halted at night. The NDRF team, which reached the spot on Monday morning, continued the operation.
According to the Revenue Divisional Officer of Arani, around 50 people, who were unable to cross the stream, were rescued by the fire department using ropes. Roughly 4,000-5,000 people climbed the hill on Sunday, he added.
The shrine dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna is located at an altitude of 4,560 ft above sea level.
Venky, a seasoned trekker who was at the spot when the incident occurred, said that the women were just 400-500 metres away from the base camp.
“We were just 50-60 seconds behind them,” said Venky, recalling the horrific incident.
According to sources, there is a check dam 500 metres off the base camp, and due to the heavy rain on Sunday, surplus water was spilling over from the dam onto the road. At around 4pm, the two women were washed away while trying to cross the check dam. Altogether, five women were swept away, but three were rescued. Venky said it’s one of the toughest and dangerous treks in the country.