Run fast friends: Eyewitness video shows panic during Wayanad landslide

A dramatic eyewitness video captured people running to escape the Kalladi landslide in Wayanad as mud engulfed a road and bridge near a tunnel project. Police and NDRF teams launched rescue operations amid fears that people were trapped beneath the debris

Wayanad(Kerala): ‘Run fast, friends, ‘ are the words heard in the background of the shocking visuals of a huge mound of mud sliding down onto the road and bridge near Kalladi here as several people, including women, attempt to outrun the landslide.

“Run fast friends. Take a photo,” the eyewitness could be heard saying in the brief video clip, aired on TV channels, shot from beyond the bridge.

---

The clip shows the mound of mud, accumulated near the Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi as part of an ongoing tunnel road project connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts, suddenly sliding down due to the rain, bringing down trees and blowing away the metal and cloth barricades set up at the construction site.

The mudslide spilt onto the road as the video showed several people, including women, running for their lives. Subsequent visuals showed the bridge and surrounding area completely covered by huge layers of mud as rescue personnel attempted to ascertain whether people were trapped underneath it.

Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also been deployed for the rescue operation. The work for Anakkompoyil-Meppadi started last year, connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts.