Heart-wrenching sight as bodies of mother, child hugging recovered beneath landslide debris in Kerala

Rescue operations at landslide-hit regions -- Kottayam and Idukki -- in Kerala on Sunday witnessed heart-wrenching scenes with bodies of a mother and children found huddled together. A child in its cradle was found beneath the debris, another life lost to the devastating rain.

The death toll due to the calamities in the state was 21 while several were reported missing.

At Koottickal in Kottayam district, 12 bodies, including those of a six-member of family, were recovered from the debris of the two landslide-affected areas.

At Kokkayar in Idukki district, six bodies, including those of a mother and her two kids along with two other children were recovered. A child and a woman, were also reported missing.

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Sniffer dogs were used for search, however, rescue operations had to be stopped by evening.

Even as the intensity of rains declined in central and southern parts of the state on Sunday, the state continues to be on high alert as heavy rains are forecast from Wednesday.

Heavy rains were also reported from parts of Palakkad district in central Kerala.

Though flood waters receded in parts of Kottayam and Pathanamthitta district, many parts were still inundated. Rescue teams shifted families to safe locations. Several parts of adjacent Alappuzha district were also flooded.

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Isolated incidents of drowning were reported from other parts of the state. A one-year-old child drowned in Kozhikode while a migrant worker was missing in a canal in Thiruvananthapuram.

Search for missing persons at the landslide-hit spots of Koottickal and Kokkayar was in full swing from early hours of Sunday as rescue teams of NDRF and Army could reach the spot only by late Saturday night as roads leading to the spots were also damaged due to landslides and land slips.

In Koottickal, six members of a family of one Martin, comprising his wife, three children and mother were among the dead. At Kokkayar, a mother, identified as Fousia, and one of her kids were found hugging one another when their dead bodies were recovered, two other children were also found huddled together.

Fousia's husband Siyad had a narrow escape. Rescue workers found it difficult to console him as he was seen watching the video footage of his family members taken in recent days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and enquired about the situations and offered central assistance. The state government announced an assistance of Rs. 4 lakh to the dependents of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the back-to-back natural calamities in Kerala again triggered a campaign for protection of the Western Ghats and strict curbs on illegal activities that affect its ecology.

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