The rescue and search operations have intensified with nearly 250 people still missing after the devastating landslide in Kerala’s Wayanad. The death toll has reached 341, as the rescue efforts enter fifth day on Saturday, according to a Manoramaonline report.
Amid the ongoing rescue and search operations, a survivor named Sujatha Aninanchira has revealed how she and her family narrowly escaped a near death situation when their home was buried in the Chooralmala landslides.
In a dramatic turn of events, they climbed to a nearby hill, but encountered a group of wild elephants. These tuskers are usually known for their aggressive behaviour, but in this case, these animals showed their caring side. As reported by Asianet news, Sujatha claimed that when they saw the tuskers, she pleaded with them for protection, surprisingly, the elephants took care of the family until rescuers arrived and she felt it was a divine intervention.
The woman, along with her family, who is currently staying at a camp at Meppadi GHSS, said, “It was pitch dark and just half a metre away from us was a wild elephant. It too seemed terrified. I mumbled a request to the elephant, saying, ‘I had just survived a disaster,’ and asked it to spare us to allow us to lie down for the night and let someone rescue us. We were very close to the tusker’s legs, but it seemed to understand our predicament. We stayed there till 6am, and the elephants also stood there till we were rescued by some people in the morning. I could see its eyes welling up as the dawn broke.”
Sujatha Aninanchira described the chaos, saying that the water was so high it looked like the sea, as trees were floating. She also saw heavy floods destroying her neighbour’s two-storey building and her own house.
Amid the chaos, she heard her granddaughter crying and despite the danger, she managed to pull the child from the debris. Sujatha then covered her with a cloth and started swimming in the rising water. Meanwhile, her son, daughter-in-law and grandson, who were in a nearby house, were rescued by her son. They eventually walked through a coffee plantation, where they came face to face with the wild elephants.
After they woke up, rescuers found the family and took them to a safe location, where they received dry clothes, food and water. Sujatha also shared that most of her community members lost their lives in flood waters and landslides.
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