Officials use drone based detectors to search bodies at landslide-hit Chooralmala area, in Wayanad district, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Wayanad (Kerala): Local lad Prajeesh drove his jeep up through the treacherous hill path twice and returned with many hapless people who were stranded atop after the deadly landslides hit Wayanad's high-range Mundakkai last week.
Just before he could move to safety came a phone call for a third 'mission,' but the ever popular localite is now missing, his damaged jeep seen at Chooralmala, leading to both fears of the worst and hopes for good news.
Risking his own life, the young man drove the vehicle up the hill for a third time but lost himself midway in the gushing flood water and mud and the barrage of huge boulders that rolled down the mountains.
That was the heartbreaking story of Prajeesh, who had plunged into a rescue mission and saved the precious lives of many people after the news about the devastating landslides broke out in the hamlets here in the wee hours of July 30.
With heavy heart and teary eyes, the people of Chooralmala village now call him their "super hero." Hailing from landslide-hit Chooralmala, Prajeesh was already popular among the villagers for his ever-ready-to-help anyone attitude, local people said.
A villager said that after hearing about the first series of landslides that hit Mundakkai hamlet, Prajeesh drove up the hill twice at his own risk and came back with many individuals who were stranded there.
"After that, he was about to shift to a safer place with his family members. Suddenly, he got another phone call, following which he again drove up the hill...but this time, he did not return," he said.
Prajeesh's damaged jeep was later found down in Chooralmala town, the man said, adding no one has seen him since then.
Another villager said Prajeesh had been an inevitable presence in all the activities in the village and a favourite of everyone.
"Whether it is a marriage or funeral, he will be there from beginning to end. Like many other people, he personally helped me also a lot, especially during the marriage of my daughter," he said.
Prajeesh's friends said they warned him not to go to the hill when he began his journey for the third time. But he didn't heed them, saying there were more people trapped in Mundakai and that he wanted to save them.
"Prajeesh was the super hero of our land...But we have lost him now," an emotional villager said.