Monsoons are intensifying in Kerala. A massive mudslide occurred in Wayanad, a place notorious for such incidents. A nearby CCTV filmed the massive landslide pushing a tanker truck and crashing it against a parked Jeep, and a husband saving his wife’s life by pulling her out of the debris.
This video is from near the Meenakshi bridge. This is near the Kalladi-Meppadi twin tunnel project site. This tunnel, expected to connect Malappuram to Wayanad, is still under construction. The camera in this case seems to be installed in a restaurant near a bus stop.
As the video opens, we see people waiting for the bus. A green-coloured Jeep, a car and a scooter are parked nearby. It is raining there and a tanker truck can be seen moving slowly toward the farther end of the frame. It enters the bridge and continues to move slowly towards the other side of it.
The construction site seems to be on the other side of the bridge and the truck is likely headed to the same. As it reaches halfway across the bridge, we see people rushing out of the restaurant as if they heard a loud noise. Even those who were waiting for their bus move to check out what was happening. Soon we see people running towards the near end of the bridge from the other side, in groups. We would know the reason in the next few seconds.
We see a massive wave of debris and sand rushing down the hill. It destroys everything in its way, uproots trees, ‘throws’ vehicles, takes people in, and finally reaches the tanker truck. The wave of mud pushes the truck back, and making it crash into the scooter and the parked Jeep.
Watch this section of the video again. You will see a couple running for their lives, through the bridge, while the truck was being pushed back by the wave. They got caught in the wave in no time, but had a miraculous escape. In the video, we can see that they slide through the rear of the (already sliding) truck, and finally stopped near the Jeep. This was indeed a close call, as they narrowly missed getting crushed under the truck’s wheels.
The woman was caught up in the mud. Her husband regained his senses and soon started the rescue. He pulled her out of the mud, and the video shows both of them walking to safety. They were soon taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
By then, the landslide had settled down. Debris and mud can be seen all around. The Jeep likely took notable damage. We don’t know what happened to the other people seen in the video. The 92-second video shows that the landslide occurred at around 11:15 am.
In a video shared by Reporter Live, we see the couple recounting the terrifying moments. The lady seems to be in shock. Luckily, she only had minor scratches- unbelievable considering the gravitas of the incident.
Image source: Screengrab
The couple works in an estate nearby. She said that they were on the way to work, but dropped the plan mid-way due to incessant rain. It was on their way back that they saw the landslide approaching. Uprooted trees and flood water mixed with mud and debris rushing towards them. They ran for their lives. We know what happened after that!
Her husband also mentioned hearing a loud noise at the onset of the landslide. He added that the locals always had this fear due to the way construction was progressing in the region and how the mountains were being ‘chopped off’.
“My husband pulled me away. I still can’t get over the shock. It feels like I’ve been given a new lease of life. I’m just happy to be alive and eager to reach home,”– the lady told a news agency, in a mix of Tamil and Malayalam.
Kerala Agriculture Minister T Siddique called this a ‘man-made disaster’. According to him, the under-construction tunnel caused the landslide, and the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, the body that is executing the twin-tunnel project, is responsible for it. He said that accumulating mud in an unscientific way at the site, caused the slide.
The Anakkampoyil-Meppadi tunnel, when completed, would become the longest road tunnel in Kerala. It will also be the third-longest in India. For now, authorities are still assessing the extent of damage caused by the landslide and rescue operations are underway.
Undertaking construction operations in Wayanad needs extra caution. Of all districts, it is the most prone to landslides. It falls under Zone III for seismic activity. Wayanad had witnessed massive landslides in Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Punchirimattom, in 2024.
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