Several people were washed away in a flash flood in Kerala’s Malappuram district on Sunday, local officials said, adding that six people had died and search operations were underway for another person.
The incident happened near the Kottapuzha River in the Chokkad area, where the water level had risen sharply after heavy rain in the forest areas upstream. The flood came about 5 p.m. near the Ularvattam-TK Colony stretch, adjacent to the Chokkad and Amarambalam panchayats.
Five bodies had been recovered, and authorities were searching for a missing woman identified as Sajitha. Three other people swept up in the sudden surge were rescued.
Congress legislator Aryadan Shoukath from Nilambur said that the river flooded due to heavy rain in the hills.
“Due to heavy rain in the hill area, the Kottapuzha River has overflowed. We lost 6 lives in this incident,” Shoukath said, adding that the state government and the National Disaster Response Force were searching.
It was Sunday and visitors thronged the riverbank. Fire and Rescue Services personnel, police and residents joined the rescue effort.
