Grieving headmaster mourns students lost in Wayanad landslide, says nature took them away

Wayanad: Days after the catastrophic landslide razed the Mundakkai region of Wayanad district and claimed the lives of its residents, Unnikrishnan, the headmaster of the Vellarimala school, which was badly affected by the disaster, summoned the courage to visit his beloved school.

As soon as Unni 'mash', as he was dearly called by everyone, set eyes on the pile of rubble, which the area had turned into, he collapsed, unable to withstand the heart-rending sight.

"We had taught these kids not to harm nature, and they also took part in conservation efforts. But nature ultimately took them away," he was seen talking to reporters.

Unni Mash has been working with the same school for the past 18 years.

"We used to come to the school at 7.30 am every day. Is there any government school in Kerala that starts so early? We used to sit here and teach," he said, pointing to the area next to the river, unable to stop sobbing out loud.

The double-storied school building that once stood majestically along the riverbank, set against a picturesque landscape, at Vellarmala near Meppadi in Wayanad, now lies in ruins.

The wreckage of the school was among the first visuals that came out of the Mundakkai region, which was hit by the recent catastrophic landslide.

"We told the kids, you're the luckiest students in the world because you get to study beside such a beautiful river. We took too much pride... And got punished for that," mash cried.

I have nothing more to say, he said.

According to the state government, a total of 49 children from the region are missing in the landslide. Some of them were students at Vellarimala GVHSS.

The school authorities are yet to trace the exact number of students from that school who are missing.

Rescue teams in Kerala's Wayanad district stepped up search operations on Saturday, deploying advanced radars, drones, and heavy machinery to locate survivors or remains, as the death toll from the catastrophic landslide climbed to 219.