One of the first informers of landslide in Wayanad dies before rescuers reach her
Wayanad (PTI): Neethu Jojo, a woman staff of a private hospital in Wayanad, was probably one of the first to alert the emergency services about the devastating landslide that hit this district on July 30, but lost her life before rescuers could reach her.
A recording of her call seeking help for herself and a couple of other families who were trapped in her house after the first wave of the devastating landslide hit Chooralmala here, has gone viral.
According to the recording, she narrates the details of the horror they faced in the early morning of July 30 when the first wave of landslide hit her house.
In her distress call, she was heard saying that the water was flowing inside her house, which was surrounded by debris including cars swept away in the landslide.
In the voice recording she says that five to six families, who used to live near her house, have escaped from nature's fury and sought refuge at her place which was comparatively safer.
Neethu was apparently speaking to a staff member of Dr Moopen's Medical College who sought all the details and assured that help was on the way.
She was probably one of the first informers of the incident but could not be saved unfortunately and her body was found days later.
In the call recording she can be heard saying she was making panic calls to everyone she knew.
"There is a landslide at Chooralmala. I live behind the school here. Can you please send someone to help us?" she was heard saying over the phone.
One of the first calls Neethu made was to Dr. Shanavas Palliyal, the DGM of Dr. Moopen's Medical College, where she was working as an office staff of the nursing college.
"She sounded very distressed and was calling for help. I immediately informed the police and our ambulance from the hospital left for Chooralmala. The road was blocked due to uprooted trees.
"Our ambulance driver and another staff member were regularly in contact with her but after the second wave of landslide, the connection was lost," Palliyal told PTI.
The ambulances and the first responders were unable to reach Neethu as the Chooralmala bridge had washed away.
However, her husband Jojo, their toddler and Jojo's mother survived the landslide.
"It looks like, after the first landslide, she and other neighbours got trapped in a room and were unable to escape before the next one," Palliyal said.
Four staff members of the hospital, including Neethu, lost their lives in the devastating landslip that struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
The side of the house in which she and the others were trapped was destroyed in the landslide.
Around three bodies were found from that region while Neethu's body was recovered from else where.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
