IDUKKI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Inclement weather and difficult terrain hit the rescue and relief efforts at Pettimudi hills at Rajamala in Munnar on Friday, even 10 hours on since a major landslide brought down a part of the hills, killing 17 persons.
To make matters worse, the Periyavara bridge on the Munnar-Rajamala main road was washed away, making it all the more difficult for rescue workers to reach the scene of the calamity. Braving all odds, rescuers managed to pull out 12 people trapped under the mud and debris.
“Heavy rain, low visibility and difficult terrain made the rescue operations a challenging task, and even delayed it by several hours. Due to heavy rain, those living in nearby settlements also came to know about the landslide very late,” said an official. “ Pettimudi is around 25 km from Munnar and it is not an easy terrain for vehicles. Since the area falls within forest department-controlled Eravikulam National Park, outsiders have to secure prior sanction to for entering the region,” he added.
Also, the narrow roads and ramshackle bridges made it difficult to take heavy-duty equipment like earth movers to the calamity scene, officials said. Earlier, as the news of the landslide trickled in on Friday morning, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was rushed to Idukki but they were bogged down by some rescue operations en route. The team set out for Rajamala in the morning while another NDRF team based in Thrissur was also asked to reach the spot for the rescue operations.
A 50-member team trained by the Fire and Rescue Services has also been deployed from Ernakulam. Crime Branch IG Gopesh Aggarwal has been appointed the special officer for coordinating rescue work in Rajamala while Crime Branch SP Sudarshanan will coordinate handing over of bodies to relatives after completing the legal formalities.
Though deploying rescue teams via a chopper was considered in the morning, the plan was dropped due to the bad weather. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the 50-member-strong special task force team of the Fire Force is trained in nighttime rescue activities. The CM said though he had sought assistance from the Indian Air Force for helicopters for rescue operations, the plan was nixed owing to bad weather.
He said two NDRF teams are expected to arrive in the state on Saturday morning and they will be deployed in Palakkad and Wayanad districts. Two more NDRF teams are expected to arrive on Saturday which will be deployed in Thrissur, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta.