Five members of a family were killed after a major landslide struck the Maliyekkal Colony at Kudayathoor near Thodupuzha, Idukki district, in the wee hours of Monday.
The deceased were identified as Chittadichaalil Soman, his wife Shiji and their 25-year-old daughter Shima. The other two were identified as 74-year-old Thankamma, Soman’s mother, and four-year-old Devanand, Shima’s son. The dead bodies were found trapped under the debris.
The bodies that were recovered from the site have been shifted to the Thodupuzha taluk hospital for autopsy while the fire and rescue personnel continue with the search operations at the site. The continuing showers and the piling up of debris on the road, however, has affected the pace of the mission.
NDRF team reaching soon
Meanwhile, a team of the National Disaster response force is soon set to reach the location. Revenue minister K Rajan and water resources minister Roshy Augustine too are slated to visit the site during the day and review the rescue operations.
According to revenue officials, the region came under an intense spell of showers since Sunday night, leading to the landslide around 4.15 a.m on Monday.
The district administration, meanwhile, have made arrangements for shifting the remaining families in the colony to a safe location. District Police Chief V. U. Kuriakose has deployed a special team, which also comprise sniffer dogs, to carry out the search operation.
In view of the heavy rains forecast, Idukki district collector Sheeba George has declared a ban on night travel on the Puliyanmala- Thodupuzha state highway from 8 pm to 6 am.
Earlier last month, a similar landslide had struck the Puthukkady estate near Munnar, damaging the staff quarters of Kannan Devan Hills Plantations(KDHP), besides shops, a temple and several parked villages. However, no casualities were reported.
Kottayam and Pathanamthitta
Besides Idukki, the eastern high ranges of Kottayam and Pathanamthitta too came under intermittent spells of intense showers on Sunday midnight. Water level in the tributaries of the Manimala river rose sharply, flooding several areas in the Mallappally Taluk. The flash floods also caused partial damages to several shops at Kottangal, Chungappara and Vettipram.
Karukachal and Pambady villages in Kottayam also reported inundation, with water entering a few houses and disrupting traffic along the Nedumann bridge and the Vazhoor Road. Flash floods were also reported along the high range villages including Moonnilavu.
