• By Kamal Kumar
  • Tue, 30 Jul 2024 10:52 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Kerala Landslide:  Last night turned into a nightmare for the people of the market town of Chooralmala in Kerala's Wayanad as gushing waves of water brought down a storm of debris from the hills upon the sleeping residents. Nature's fury was so intense that houses were swept away, leaving behind concrete floors, ridden with corpses and scattered belongings of victims of the Wayanad landslide.

Till now, 123 bodies have been recovered, many in bits and pieces, said government sources. Personnel from the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy have been roped in to rescue the trapped and search for the survivors in the greatest natural disaster in the state since the 2018 floods. Federal and state agencies such as NDRF, SDRF, district administration and Kerala police have been tirelessly working and rescued over 700 while relocating over 3,000 to safer places.

ALSO READ: Wayanad Landslide: 123 Dead, Over 100 Injured In 'Worst Disaster' To Hit State, Rescue Ops Underway Amid Adverse Weather | Updates

Amid the chaos in now now-washed Mundakai area, survivors of the terrifying tragedy recounted the fateful night of Monday. Around 1:40 in the wee hours of Tuesday, we heard a loud noise and I saw a house, 30 metres from my room getting washed away, recollected Mustafa, a resident of Chooralmala and survivor of the ghastly tragedy.

"People of an entire village washed away," Mustafa, an Assam native who is now staying at a relief camp, recounted.

"At around 1:40 AM, there was a loud sound and a house around 30 metres away from my room completely collapsed. Since we were not sleeping, we ran out immediately. Several people have been trapped in this incident. I have been rescued, it feels good," he said in a feeble voice while talking to ANI on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Kerala Landslide: Man Clings To Boulder To Survive In Flood Waters

The Kerala government has announced a two-day state mourning starting today. In an address, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that all the medical and essential services staff have been kept on hold and holidays of such state employees have been cancelled.

"Kerala Bank has already contributed Rs 50 lakh to CMDRF. The Cochin International Airport (CIAL)* has pledged Rs 2 crore, and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has promised Rs 5 crore in aid. In response to the disaster in Wayanad, the state has declared two days of official mourning. Public events and celebrations have been postponed. We request that the national flag be flown at half-mast as part of the mourning period," a fresh statement by the CM office stated.