Kerala govt seeks military help for rescue operations in landslides-hit Wayanad
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Tuesday sought the assistance of the Defence forces for rescue operations in the wake of the devastating landslides in Wayanad district.
A Defence PRO said that a team of 43 personnel, led by the Second-in-Command from the 122 Infantry Battalion (TA) MADRAS, has been mobilised to aid in the ongoing rescue efforts.
The team, comprising a Medical Officer, two Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), and 40 soldiers, is equipped to provide critical assistance in the affected area.
Separately, a Defence statement said based on a requisition received from the Kerala government on Tuesday morning "for rescue of approximately 250 persons likely to be stranded in a major landslide in Meppadi Panchayat" in Vythiri Taluk two rescue columns of Indian Army with a strength of approximately 200 soldiers from Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre, Kannur, along with medical team from Military Hospital Kannur and troops from Territorial Army from Kozhikode has been deployed.
It said assistance was sought from the Indian Army and Indian Air Force.
Two Relief columns from Defence Security Corps Centre, Kannur along with rescue equipment and other detachments have been deployed for rescue and relief operations, it said.
"Two helicopters from Air Force Station Sulur have been despatched for rescue operations. Weather over the affected area is adverse. However they will be taking off again towards disaster relief operations," the release said.
Meanwhile, a state government release said that a request for the Navy's assistance was made at the Chief Minister's direction, and the Navy's River Crossing Team from the Ezhimala Naval Academy in Kannur will immediately depart for Wayanad.
Their deployment aims to augment existing rescue operations and provide relief to those affected by the landslides triggered by heavy rains.
The landslides, which occurred early on Tuesday, has left a trail of destruction in its wake, with several houses destroyed, water bodies swollen, and trees uprooted.
The picturesque villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha have been cut off from other areas, leaving many stranded.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
