Friday night's devastating landslide that hit three houses, including one preparing for a betrothal slated for Saturday, has so far claimed 36 lives, most of them from one family, even as the search is on for at least five more bodies from the debris.
Of the 36 bodies recovered, 13 each were those of children and women.
Twenty five bodies were identified as those of relatives of C D Thomas, whose house was razed to the ground under the impact of the landslide, caused by heavy rains. About 30 of his relatives were in the house to participate in the betrothal of his lone son Binu Thomas.
Most of the remaining bodies were identified as those of the members of two families living nearby. Their mud houses were swept away by the gushing waters before destroying the terraced building of Thomas. He and his young niece were the only two survivors from the three ill-fated houses.
Those buried in the house of Thomas included his son Binu, wife Leelamma, daughter Beena and her husband and their two children. Others had come from Alapuzha, Pala, Erumeli and Kottayam for the betrothal, a prelude to the wedding fixed for November 27 at the St George Forane church in the locality.
Bureau Report