As nature punishes mankind for being reckless about the environment, tragic stories of helpless families continue to arrive from Kerala.
And on Sunday, while clearing the debris of a landslide in Malappuram, the rescuers recovered bodies of a mother and child. The mother was seen still holding on protectively to her young son.
Dhruvan was just 1.5 years old. And her mother Geetha (21), till the last minute, tried to keep her child safe, but she failed.
Police officials told TNM that the mission to retrieve the bodies of the mother and the son was a tough one. He further added:
“The slabs were standing precariously and a wrong move would have made everything crash on them again.
She was holding him. We had to remove her hold on the child and then remove the two bodies seperately,”
The landslide happened two days after heavy rains were wreaking havoc in Kerala. The only person who survived from the family is Sharath, Geetha’s husband.
The CCTV recording captured a disturbing video of Sarath, walking with an umbrella, on a road. His mother who was walking towards him stops to talk.
Someone watching the recording can be heard in the video comments that the mother was telling the son to run.
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And, then one can see Sarath and Sarojini looking behind them as a mudslide crashes towards them out of nowhere, dragging down trees along the way. Though Sarath manages to escape, his mother, Sarojini, is pulled under the mud.
#NewsAlert | Family caught in Malappuram mudslide. | @neethureghu with more details#FloodFury pic.twitter.com/V0Jc3DA5FY
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 10, 2019
The search operations were disrupted twice due to unfavorable weather conditions. Since there was no rain in Malappuram on Sunday, the rescue team was able to resume the search and recover the bodies of Geethu and Dhruvan.
At least 63 people, including children, are feared to be trapped underground after a major landslide occurred in Kavalappara. Nine bodies have been found so far and rescue operations are still on. The total number of people reported to have died in rain-related incidents in the state is 63.
