Malappuram: The body of 26-year-old Sajitha, a resident of TK Colony, was recovered from the Kottapuzha River near Pookkottumpadam in Nilambur around 12.30 pm on Tuesday, taking the death toll in Sunday’s flash flood to six. She was the last person reported missing after the incident.

Sajitha’s body was found near Thazhe Poothottam Kadavu, only a short distance from the spot where she was swept away. She had gone to the river near her home to wash clothes when a sudden surge of water struck the area.
The body has been shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, for postmortem examination.

The search for Sajitha was carried out by personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire and Rescue Services and police, along with local volunteers. Search teams had been combing different stretches of the river since Sunday evening. 

A total six people were swept away when a sudden surge of water hit the Kottapuzha River near the Ularvattam-TK Colony stretch around 5 pm on Sunday. The water level rose sharply on Sunday evening despite no rain being reported in the immediate area, apparently following heavy rainfall in the forested upstream areas. Three people were rescued.

Bodies of Muhammed Kutty (65) of Tirur, Mangadan Anas (27) of Edarikode in Kottakkal, Rahim (35) of Karuvarakundu, Kuppanath Sajjad (23) of Kottakunnu in Vandoor, and Chettiyarmmal Kuruppath Rafiq (41) were recovered during the search carried out on Sunday and Monday. 

Chief Minister V D Satheeshan who visited the spot on Monday has already announced that the compensation for the families of the victims would be announced on Wednesday.