Chennai Woman Killed, Friend Hurt in Kottayam Landslide; One Missing Elsewhere
A 35-year-old Chennai woman died and her friend was injured in a landslide at Velathussery near Teekoy in Kottayam, as heavy rain triggered multiple slips across the district's high ranges.
A woman from Chennai was killed and her companion injured when a landslide struck a road at Velathussery near Teekoy in Kerala's Kottayam district on Sunday evening, police said.
The dead woman has been identified as Sangeetha Arul Lal, 35, a resident of Jawahar Nagar in Chennai.
According to police, Sangeetha and her friend, who is also from Tamil Nadu, were on their way back from a visit to Vagamon, a hill tourist spot in the district, when the slope above the road gave way.
Mud slid onto the road and buried Sangeetha, who was riding a scooter at the time. Her friend managed to get clear of the debris but sustained injuries and was taken to hospital, where her condition is reported to be stable.
Residents of the area reached the spot soon after and dug through the mud to pull Sangeetha out. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Police said they have informed the injured woman's family.
The landslide followed heavy rain across the high-range belts of Kottayam district, where several minor slips were reported through Sunday evening, officials said.
At Mangalagiri near Teekoy, houses were damaged in one such slide. In a separate incident at Peringulam in Poonjar Thekkekara panchayat, a house was damaged by a mudslide, leaving one person missing while two others were rescued. A search operation is under way for the missing person, officials added.