'He lay dead just the way he went to sleep': Mom, son & a home gone overnight in Poonjar

27-year-old Joseph Johnny had the next two days all planned out. After injuring his foot in an accident, he was all set to return to his job at St Joseph's College of Engineering and Technology on Monday after a two-month-long leave. Before that, he was set to have his bandages removed on Sunday. However, just a day before his life would return to its routines, Joseph, along with his mother Regina, died in a debris flow that swallowed their home in Kottayam’s Payyanithottam in the early hours of Saturday.

The landslide occurred around 2.45 am on Saturday, when Joseph and his mother, Regina Johnny, had been asleep. “The neighbours heard a loud crashing noise followed by a scream and rushed to the scene with their flashlights to find the house engulfed by mud,” Rinku, a neighbour who undertook the rescue operation, told Onmanorama.

Although people gathered to help, there was no way to reach the family. “A pile of mud measuring up to our waists had accumulated below. We tried two different paths to reach them but to no avail,” he said. “Finally, I, along with some youngsters from the region who were familiar with a third path from another hill, had to cross a stream with a very strong current to get there,” he added.

When they reached the spot, what lay before them was a completely devastating sight. “The house had been smashed to smithereens,” he said.

Although the crew called out to the family, hoping for a reassuring response, they were met with deafening silence. “We knew then that everyone there was gone,” he added. From then on, every minute spent there was a race against time. On one hand, if they had any hope of saving them, they had to act fast. On the other, with the pouring rain and soaked soil, a second landslide could occur at any time. “If that were to happen, we too would be dead. That thought was frightening,” he said.

They immediately called Regina’s husband, Joseph, hoping to get an idea of how many people might have been buried underneath. “Joseph had gone to accompany an elderly neighbour who had certain ailments. So he wasn’t home when the landslip occurred,” Rinku said. He then informed the group that his wife and son were home and that his two daughters were away.

The search intensified in less than an hour as earthmovers were hired to clear the large volume of soil that had flowed in from the hilly slopes behind the house. Soon, police officials and Fire and Rescue Services personnel arrived at the spot. Even then, carrying the equipment to the house proved difficult.

Despite all the effort, it took four more hours for the first body to be recovered. “It was the son’s body. He had been lying there, just as he had gone to sleep the night before,” Rinku said in a sombre tone.

“I can’t even remember when we found Regina’s body. We had completely lost track of time by that point. I only know that it was by noon,” he said. In the rush to save their beloved neighbours, Rinku and the others who had gathered to help had not eaten anything or even had a drop to drink.

It took a few more hours before they were able to recover Regina’s body. “She was found underneath a section of the kitchen ceiling, which had landed about 20 metres away from the rest of the house,” Rinku said. “They were using cutters to remove the large chunks of concrete covering the area. When they lifted off a piece, they found her feet. They then quickly removed the remaining pieces as well,” he said.

According to the residents, a large volume of earth from a hill behind their home came gushing down due to incessant rain.

The bodies of the deceased will be brought to the Holy Spirit Convent in Payyanithottam on Sunday around 11 am. “The bodies will be kept there for public viewing as their house has been destroyed,” Rinku said. They will be laid to rest at 3 pm.