Fifteen people have been killed in a landslide that occurred in the wee hours of Thursday in Pettimudi, Rajamalai near Munnar in Kerala’s Idukki district. The deceased include a 12-year old boy and a 13-year-old girl besides eight men and five women. Fifty seven people are stranded and rescue operations are underway to search for missing people, authorities said. The deceased were identified as Gandhiraj (48), Sivakami (35), Vishal (12), Ramalakshmi (40), Murukan (46), Mayil Swami (48), Kannan (40), Annadurai (44) and Rajeswari (43), Kousalya (25), Thapasiyamal (42), Sindhu (13), Nitheesh (25), Paneerselvam (50) and Ganeshan (40).
Three people who were found to be seriously injured have been referred to Medical College Hospital in Kolenchery. One person is undergoing treatment at the TATA General Hospital in Munnar, as of 3.45 pm on Friday.
The incident happened at around 1.30 am on Friday. Electricity connection was cut off in the region for the past four days, which led to difficulties in informing rescue personnel about the accident.
The incident took place on the estates of the Kannan Devan Hills Company in the Pettimudi range, located in the Munnar gram panchayat limits, where around 400 workers live. Most of them were reported to hail from Tamil Nadu. The landslide originated from a hill near Idamalakkudi and first fell on four layams (quarters where the workers were living) that were by the road.
15 people have died in a landslide in Munnar. Just terrible. Having visited these sites earlier, one thing I can say is that it is tough for rescuers. Very tough. This happened in the Kanan Devan plantation pic.twitter.com/GAWSJ1prTk
— Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) August 7, 2020
“In total, there were 82 people who lived in four layams, with around 20 people in each layam,” Idukki district Panchayat President Kochu Thresia Paul told TNM.
According to forest officials, 31 houses in four layams have been buried in the landslide. The incident came to light at around 6.30 am on Friday.
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“The reason for the delay in rescue operations was because there was no power. After the incident took place, an Assistant Forest Warden in Pettimudi reached senior forest officials in a bike at the Eravikulam National Park in the morning, following which the officials left for the place. The roads were blocked with mud owing to the landslide and the forest officials had to clear the road to reach Pettimudi. Lives could have been saved if the accident occurred in the day,” said Kochu Thresia.
Adding to the connectivity issue, the Periyara bridge that connects Munnar to Rajamalai had collapsed on Thursday after heavy rains. “The rescue operations will be very difficult. The NDRF personnel haven’t reached the spot. All along the way, there have been minor landslides and only after clearing those, they can reach here,” the forest officer said.
Pettimudi, according to local people, is not a landslide-prone area. The region was unaffected in the consecutive floods of 2018 and 2019.
“This is a region which is comparatively safer. We have visited the spot multiple times. Of all the places, we didn’t imagine this place to be hit by such a disaster. This is a tragedy. It has been found that a hill, about 500 metres uphill from the spot, has completely slid down, burying these houses. Tea saplings were reported to be planted in this hill recently,” Martin Lowel said.
“The landslide originated on a hill to the right of Pettimudi. The hill is two kilometers away from Pettimudi. The landslide fell on the layams, which were situated on a slope,” the district panchayat president said.
A 50-member trained team of Fire and Rescue personnel have been deployed to the spot. The Health Department has sent a mobile medical team along with 15 ambulances. "More medical teams will be sent if needed. It has also been directed that nearby hospitals should be urgently equipped," Health Minister KK Shailaja said.
Watch visuals from landslide hit Pettimudi: