Cyclone Fengal: 7 members of family, including 5 children, trapped in landslide in Tamil Nadu

Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu): Seven members of a family, including five children, were feared trapped in a landslide that buried a house located at the lower slope of Annamalaiyar Hills at Tiruvannamalai after extremely heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Fengal pounded the district on Sunday evening, an official said.

District collector D. Bhaskara Pandian told newsmen after inspecting the ongoing rescue operations on Monday that the house located on 11th Street in VOC Nagar was buried under mud and debris after the landslide on the hills.

On being alerted by the neighbors, rescue teams comprising police and personnel of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department rushed to the site and attempted to rescue the trapped persons.

However, the rescue operation was hampered by continuous heavy downpour, and besides, a huge boulder is on the verge of rolling down the slope.

Heavy machinery like JCB could not be pressed into service due to narrow roads and other constraints.

The NDRF and SDRF teams reached the site and began rescue operations this morning with heavy risk as the huge boulder could roll down at any moment.

Mr. Pandian said they were unable to establish contact with the family members through their mobile phone.

Several houses and two-wheelers in that area were either damaged or partly buried under the silt.

The residents in that area were evacuated and given shelter in a government school, he added.