Kozhikode: Though search operations continued for the landslide victims , only one body was retrieved from Kavalappara in Malappuram and none from Puthumala in Wayanad. So far 20 bodies were retrieved at Kalavalappara while 39 are yet to be found. Seven more bodies are missing at Puthumala.
As the death toll rose to 95 in the state, the rescue workers of Army, Fire and Rescue, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and volunteers were on with their mission while plans were afoot to use more machines and technology for tracing the bodies.
The rescue workers were witnesses to heart-rending scenes. When the body of Priayadarshan, a youth, was retrieved on Monday, he was found sitting on his bike, with even his raincoat on his body. He was buried amid the soil and rock that rushed in before he got time to step down from his bike, according to his friend. “Priyadarshan came on the bike by evening and the catastrophe stuck when he was parking his bike between the car and the house in the portico," he said.
"Priyadarshan went home to see his mother. By the time he reached home, the landslide occurred with a thunderous sound”, said Riju, his friend. Priyadarshan’s mother Ragini and grandmother were at home then. The body of Ragini was retrieved on Sunday. The grandmother’s body is yet to be found .
