In one of the worst natural disasters the state has seen, 40 people were killed and four others injured in a landslide in Amboori on Friday night.
Forty bodies have so far been recovered by rescuers from the rubbles of the devastating landslip which occurred at Poochamukku in Neyyar Dam on the slopes of the western ghats, near Thiruvananthapuram.
The house where a large number of people had gathered for an engagement ceremony, was completely razed trapping relatives and friends of the family.
According to eyewitnesses, in the stunning impact of the landslip, four houses on the upper part of the rocky 'Kurisumala' came down collapsing on the concrete house of one C D Thomas on the slope of the hill, where the betrothal ceremony of his son, was to take place this morning.
Heavy rains, strong winds and power supply cut made rescue work difficult recovery initially.
The search operations by police, army, fire force and local people are still on as more people are feared to be trapped inside a part of the collapsed house.
Most families in this remote hilly hinterland, part of the Neyyar dam area of Agasthya forests, are small holders settled from central Travancore region.
The bodies have been taken to a nearby private hospital for post-mortem.
Bureau Report