Coimbatore/Hyderabad: The landslide in Wayanad, Kerala, has left an unforgettable scar for the people of Kerala. While the official death toll is 225 as per the government announcement, locals suggest that over 400 people died in the landslide.
The search for 131 people who were reported missing is still going on in areas like Mundakkai, Churalmala, Attamala and Punchirimattam. Esan, the head of the Delta Rescue Team from Coimbatore, who participated in the rescue operation, shared his experiences with ETV Bharat.
Esan, who served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy, formed a group called the Delta Rescue Team after voluntary retirement. The participants are mostly officers serving in the three armed forces. This rescue team, attached under the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is engaged in rescue operations in disaster-hit areas.
Speaking about this, Esan, who has now returned to Coimbatore from the Wayanad rescue operation, said that Wayanad was not our first experience, it is our team's 19th operation.
"This is our third assignment for Kerala as well. During the 2018 flood in Kerala, we went there and rescue work was done on a massive scale. The damage was widespread," added Esan.
"Compared to this, the Wayanad affected area is less, but we regret that our team did not get a chance to rescue even one survivor. The State Disaster Response Team and the Army, who went to the field before us, rescued many people alive. But we could only recover lifeless bodies," he said.
On asked how Wayanad was different, or more dangerous than other landslides, he replied, "We searched with the thought that at least one person would be found alive, but to no avail. Usually in things like landslides, people get trapped in some kind of pocket, and those who are uninjured or have minor injuries can be dug out. But in Wayanad, there was no chance for that, we only got the bodies and the organs,” he said.
He further said that he found body parts like hand alone, leg alone and head alone, but the internal organs were scattered in some places. "People came to us and said that there is an intestine part or brain-like thing and called to come and look for it, but even then we did not find the whole body," added Esan.
He said that the challenge for the Kerala government is to identify the dead bodies.
"The dead bodies were also identified with nail polish, finger ring of a child etc. If you ask why this is happening, there is nothing to doubt it, big rocks, and huge trees are uprooted and come along with the water. What will happen if these fall on humans, they will be crushed to die. He recalls that some of the trees were too big for four people to hug, and it was a challenge to cut and remove the uprooted trees," he added.
He recalled during their rescue experience, the team did not see any wildlife suffer and die. "They might have escaped due to natural instincts. Wayanad is all about elephants and King Kobras they did not find any carcasses of such animals during the rescue operation," he added.
