With nine more dead bodies retrieved from the debris of a devastating landslide in Pettimudi, Rajamalai, near Munnar in Idukki district, the death toll in the tragedy has rised to 24. It has been a tough time for rescuers as they have been trying to go through the debris and the slush to find 45 others who have gone missing.
In a landslide on the wee hours of Friday, four 'layams' (line houses or shanties where tea estate workers live) with 30 rooms were fully destroyed. As soon as rescuers could reach the area which was still reeeling under heavy rains, many bodies were pulled out. The deceased include a 13-year-old girl, a 12-year old boy, seven women and 15 men. A 52-year-old woman has been admitted to the Kolencherry Medical College Hospital while two women and a man has been admitted at the Tata Hospital Munnar.
The rescue operations are jointly led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the police, the Fire Force, the Revenue Department and volunteers. Three units of the NDRF including 58 members from Arakkonam are engaged in the rescue operations.
It is reported that Munnar panchayat's former member Ananda Siva and 21 members of his family are also among those who have gone missing. In total around 43 people are feared to be missing.
Petitmudi area had been cut off from the outside world for two days before the landslide due to incessant rains and hence the people outside came to know about the disaster only a few hours later. Moreover, the already poor mobile connectivity in these areas simply collapse during rains.
The tea estate where the landslide happaned is owned by the Kannan Devan Hills Private Company and the people lived in the layams were workers of the company's tea plantations. The company has reportedly declared extra gratia of Rs five lakh each to the family of the deceased. According to the statistics of the company 81 people were living in the layams.
Rescue operations were delayed by bad weather and the rescue team had to negotiate several adversities like dilapidated roads and a collapsed bridge to reach the spot.
The post-mortem of the deceased will be conducted at the Tata Hospital. Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan reached the spot on Saturday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also said that the tragedy had been come to light late as the electricity and communications facilities were cut off. Pettimudi, according to District Panchayat President Kochu Thresia Paul doesn’t fall under disaster prone area. “It was not affected by the floods in 2018 and 2019 and hence no particular alerts were issued for the area,” she told TNM.