Idukki: The torrential rains and gusty winds uprooted several trees between Munnar and Vattavada, cutting off the agricultural village from the rest of the district.
The trail of destruction cost a 50-year-old man from Vattavada his life, as attempts to rush him to the nearest hospital, more than 45 kilometres away, failed.
S Raja, a resident of Chilanthiyar, had collapsed in his house after suffering a heart attack around 2 am on Saturday. Efforts to shift him to the nearest hospital via Pazhathottam and Chittivarai, was aborted as uprooted trees had blocked the way.
His relatives and neighbours returned eight kilometres to Vattavada in a bid to take another route to the hospital. They, however, faced the same hurdles.
Though they cleared the road and reached Urkad, some four kilometers from Vattavada, around 8 am, they could not proceed further since another tree had blocked the road.
Even as those accompanying him tried to clear the road, Raja suffered a cardiac arrest and died. Following his death, they returned home with the body.
Raja is survived by wife Alphonsa, children Mariyadas, Shanti and Asha, and children-in-law Bhagyalakshmy, Murugan and Antony.
Agricultural village Vattavada is a rain-shadow area located on the eastern side of the Western Ghats.
