Heavy rains continue in Kerala, 2 drown, 3 TN fishermen among 4 missing

Two people have died so far and four, including three fishermen from Tamil Nadu, are missing as heavy rains continue to lash Kerala, with Kudule in Kasaragod district recording over 30 cm of rains till Saturday.

In the hilly Idukki district, a minor landslide occurred Saturday morning at Konnathady village, causing crop loss. There were no casualties, official sources said.

People have been advised against travelling in hilly areas, they said.

Koshy Varghese (53) drowned after slipping into the Manimala river at Thiruvalla while fishing and Dileep Kumar (54) from Kollam died when a coconut tree fell on him Friday, Kerala State Disaster Management sources said.

Three fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who had put out to sea from Neendakara in Kollam, are still missing. Two others in their boat managed to swim to safety.

A man who had gone to bathe at Fort Kochi beach is also missing.

In the northernmost Kasaragod district where red alert has been issued, Kudule recorded 30.6 cm rainfall and Hosdurg 27.7 cm in 24 hours till 8:30 am Saturday, the sources said.

The Kariangode river is in spate and has changed its course, flooding 50 houses in the vicinity, and people have been shifted to relief camps.

A holiday has been declared for educational institutions, including professional college in the district.

According to reports, the Madananthesswara Sidhi Vinayaka temple at Madhur has been flooded.

In a huge relief, four fishers who had gone missing after putting out to sea from nearby Vizhinjam on Wednesday, returned safely.

Their boat had developed a technical fault and was drifting about 28 nautical miles from the shore. The fishermen, who were left without food, have been shifted to a hospital.

The families of the missing fishermen had been staging protests at Vizhinjam beach area since Friday demanding immediate action to trace their kin.

Former chief minister Oommen Chandy visited the area Saturday morning and met the family members. Later, he told reporters that he had spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought aerial search by Navy around the coast here.

Twenty-eight fishermen had set out in seven boats from the Vizhinjam coast search of the missing fishers, Kovalam MLA M Vincent said.

Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said the state government was doing all that was humanly possible and fishermen should not venture into sea when it is rough.

In Arratupuzha, relief camps have been opened to accommodate families that have shifted there after sea water entered their houses.

According to the IMD, Thalassery and Thaliparambu in Kannur district recorded 19.4 cm and 17.4 cm rains respectively.

Shutters of Pambla, Kallarkutty, Bhoothathankettu and Malankara dams were opened to drain out excess water.