Udhagamandalam (Tamil Nadu): Torrential overnight rain unleashed a series of landslides across Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district, paralysing traffic, damaging property and claiming the life of a state transport bus driver near Burliar. More than 100 students from Keralam, travelling in buses just behind the ill-fated vehicle, escaped unharmed after halting roughly 300 metres short of the disaster site, PTI reported.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus was going from Coonoor to Mettupalayam when the hillside collapsed during the intervening night of October 23-24. Mud, rocks and uprooted trees fell on the vehicle.
Rescue teams worked for hours to pull out driver Janagaraj and conductor Kesavan. Janagaraj died of his injuries, while Kesavan was admitted to hospital.
Students Rescued
The two buses carrying the Keralam students were headed towards Mettupalayam on their journey home to Palakkad when they stopped shortly before the affected stretch. Though they avoided direct impact, the landslides left them stranded along with more than 200 other vehicles on the mountain highway.
All the students were later moved to safety and transported to Mettupalayam in mini-buses, where arrangements for food and shelter were made. Backward Classes Welfare Minister V Sampath Kumar and senior officials oversaw the evacuation.
“All the students were safe, and they were brought down from the damaged ghat road with the help of police and fire and rescue services personnel,” the minister later told reporters.
Police said the bus had three passengers, all of whom alighted shortly before it reached Burliar. Only Janagaraj and Kesavan remained on board when the mudslide occurred.
Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Kesavan recounted the terrifying moments inside the vehicle. “As the government bus stood on the rain-soaked ghat road, the heavily saturated hillside above gave way and tree branches fell on the bus twice, making it difficult to step out of the vehicle,” he said.
Rescue Operation Amid Debris
Visuals circulated widely on social media showed the bus partially buried under mud, branches and rocks, with earthmovers working to clear the wreckage. Officials described an exceptionally difficult rescue as the crew remained trapped beneath the debris.
“A violent torrent of heavy mud, dislodged rocks, and massive uprooted trees that crashed down directly onto the vehicle made it difficult for the rescue team to free the bus crew,” an official said.
A Fire and Rescue Services officer said searches inside the battered bus confirmed that no passengers were trapped. “The driver was completely trapped in his seat beneath the heavy debris. We searched the entire bus and initially found no other passengers, which was a huge relief, though tragic for the crew,” the officer said.
The landslide’s impact shattered windows, severely damaged the roof and pinned the driver inside the cabin. Kesavan was injured before rescuers could reach him through the wreckage.
District Brought To A Standstill
The relentless rainfall disrupted life across the hill district, with mudslides blocking the Ooty-Mettupalayam and Ooty-Coonoor highways. Authorities shut schools, suspended mountain train services, barred entry to tourist spots and imposed restrictions on vehicular movement along vulnerable ghat routes between 6 pm and 7 am.
Tourists were advised to avoid visiting the Nilgiris for the next three days. A cargo vehicle transporting poultry overturned, while a house suffered extensive damage in the inclement weather.
In Ooty’s Theetukkal locality, the retaining wall of a hotel gave way, damaging two cars and six two-wheelers. Fire and Rescue personnel pulled a night watchman, who had been trapped in the mud, to safety.
Landslides were also reported from Kodaikanal in Dindigul district and along the Bodimettu Ghat Road on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, disrupting vehicular movement. Damage to key link roads further affected traffic between Batlagundu and Kodaikanal.
Burliar recorded the district’s highest rainfall at 25 cm, followed by Kil Kotagiri Estate with 20 cm, Coonoor PTO with 17 cm, Alakarai Estate with 16 cm and Kotagiri with 14 cm. Several other areas received between 15 cm and 20 cm of rain.
The weather office issued a red alert for Nilgiris, cautioning of continued heavy to very heavy rainfall. The IMD Chennai urged residents and travellers to follow local administration advisories, avoid non-essential journeys through hilly terrain and remain vigilant as conditions evolved.