Wayanad landslides LIVE | Toll rises to 243; Kerala CM slams Amit Shah on warning claims

The massive Wayanad landslides that levelled houses and buried lives underneath them have also scarred the survivors for life.

With their near and dear ones gone and staring at an uncertain future, survivors recount their most traumatic experience ever that unfolded early on July 30.

Pranjeesh, a survivor from Mundakkai, said he heard a loud noise and the landslide occurred four times.

“Around 12.40 am, the landslide occurred. We heard a huge sound. Three members of my family were lost in the landslide that passed right in front of my house. Now, we are in a camp and safe. We are eight people. My mother’s sister and her family were left behind,” he said.

Prasanna, from Chooralmala, was in tears when she recounted her experience. The woman witnessed her sister and her family being swept away by the muddy water.

“I could only help my father. I carried him and ran towards the forest. I couldn’t help my sister. I couldn’t save her. Two of the children ran outside and got swept away. I could hear them screaming. Our house got swept away,” Prasanna, in her late 40s, recounted the ordeal.

Padmavathi, who is in her 80s, lost her daughter-in-law and is unsure who will care for her. “She left me alone. Who will take care of me now? I am all alone,” a sobbing Padmavathi said.

Several persons and family members who were rescued are currently admitted to hospitals.

The children who witnessed the devastating event are unable to sleep, haunted by the traumatic experience, Prasanna said. They wake up in the middle of the night, fearing a recurrence of the landslides.

Most of the people seeking shelter in the camps are from Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. They are deeply shaken by the tragic act of nature, struggling to process the reality of what happened.

These survivors are staying in one of the camps, St Joseph High School in Meppadi.

There are five more relief camps organised in Wayanad, which include schools, churches, anganwadis and other available resources. Authorities also mentioned that as more persons are rescued, additional relief camps will be organised.

Union Minister George Kurian has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the landslide situation in Kerala’s Wayanad district, with the central government assuring all possible assistance to the state for the rescue efforts of those affected by the tragedy.

Kurian visited the people affected by the landslide in Wayanad.

“The situation is being monitored by the central government at the highest level. The Honourable Prime Minister is monitoring the situation and has deputed me to visit the affected areas. Both control rooms of the Ministry of Home Affairs are monitoring the situation 24x7 and providing all possible assistance to the state,” he was quoted as saying in a press release on Wednesday.

“I would like to assure the people of Kerala that the Modi government is committed to providing all possible assistance to the State Government for the rescue of the people affected by the landslide here,” Kurian said.

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy said that two teams of NDRF, two columns of the Indian Army, and two IAF helicopters have been deployed for search and rescue operations. Three additional teams of NDRF, equipped with search and rescue equipment, are on the way. A dog squad has also been deployed for search and rescue operations, he said.

“Columns of the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) have been deployed for the construction of three Bailey bridges. Two columns of the army with stores have been airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode. One 110-foot Bailey bridge and three search and rescue dogs have been airlifted from Delhi to Kozhikode. Helicopter reconnaissance of the Engineering Team to assess damage is being done to work out further resources required to be inducted,” he said.

The Indian Navy’s ship INS Zamorin has been deployed to assist in establishing the movement of rescue workers to the other side of the damaged bridge. “Additional resources will be sent by the Centre as required,” he added.

Harrowing scenes of dead bodies in sitting and lying positions inside destroyed houses could be seen as rescue operations resumed in the landslide-devastated Mundakkai hamlet in Kerala’s Wayanad district on Wednesday morning.

The rescuers could reach many inland areas, which were totally cut off, only on Wednesday morning.

According to visuals aired on TV channels, at one place, army personnel could be seen breaking the tin roof of a house that was completely submerged in mud and using ropes to reach inside to retrieve the bodies of those trapped there.

A local man, who went inside one such house, said he saw mud-covered bodies in sitting positions on chairs and lying down on cots.

“The deceased persons might have been sitting or lying down when the tragedy struck them in the wee hours of Tuesday,” he said.

However, authorities have not officially responded about this so far.