Wayanad landslides: One of the first informers dies before rescuers reach her—‘I live behind the school…’

The calamitous series of Wayanad landslides on July 30 claimed over 373 lives, as per figures reported last night. The tragic events in Mundakkai and Chooralmala shed light on several instances where people called for help. Rescuers were able to save some, while others succumbed after a long struggle to stay alive.

A woman staff member of a private hospital in Wayanad, identified as Neethu Jojo, probably alerted the emergency services about the natural disaster first, reported PTI.

However, her fight to stay alive ended before rescuers could reach her. Recently, a distress call to emergency services seeking help for herself and a couple of other families went viral.

These people were trapped in Neethu Jojo's house after the first wave of catastrophic landslides hit Chooralmala. The recording detailed the ordeal the victims faced after the first wave of the series of deadly landslides that flattened villages early Tuesday. 

In her distress call, which she apparently made to a staff member of Dr Moopen's Medical College, the victim said that water was flowing inside the house, which was surrounded by debris, including cars swept away in the landslide. She added that five to six families living near her residence had sought refuge at her place, which was comparatively safer, reported PTI.

In the call recording, she said she was making panic calls to everyone she knew. "There is a landslide at Chooralmala. I live behind the school here. Can you please send someone to help us?" she pleaded.

The staff member who reportedly received the distress call assured that help was on the way. 

The DGM of Dr Moopen's Medical College, Dr Shanavas Palliyal, received one of her first distress calls. “She sounded very distressed and was calling for help. I immediately informed the police, and our ambulance from the hospital left for Chooralmala. The road was blocked due to uprooted trees,” PTI quoted Shanavas Palliyal as saying.

Help delayed as Chooralmala bridge washed away

The doctor added, "Our ambulance driver and another staff member were regularly in contact with her, but after the second wave of landslide, the connection was lost," reported PTI. 

The ambulances and the first responders could not reach Neethu as the Chooralmala bridge had washed away. 

Neethu Jojo could not survive, and authorities recovered her body days later. However, her husband Jojo, their child and Jojo's mother survived the landslide. 

"It looks like, after the first landslide, she and other neighbours got trapped in a room and were unable to escape before the next one," Palliyal said as quoted by PTI. 

Four staff members of the hospital, including Neethu, lost their lives in the devastating landslip. According to PTI, the landslide destroyed the side of the house in which she and the others were trapped. Authorities found three bodies in that region while they recovered Neethu's body from elsewhere.