EPS demands TN govt, NDRF to act fast to rescue 7 trapped under landslide in Tiruvannamalai

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday demanded that the Tamil Nadu government expedite the rescue operation to save seven people, including five children, who are trapped under the landslide on the foothills of Annamalai in Tiruvannamalai town.

Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force pressed into action to rescue the victims after the police and fire service personnel’s efforts did not yield the desired result. However, the rescue operation was halted late in the evening on Sunday as the waterspout continued without losing its intensity due to cyclone Fengal, which is leaving behind a trail of devastation on its path in Puducherry and northern districts of Tamil Nadu - Villupuram, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai districts - since it made its landfall.

Palaniswami took to social media to express his shock over the incident and said that it had been 18 hours since the landslide buried a couple and five children, and they are yet to be rescued. He insisted that the state government and the NDRF should act swiftly to rescue them. “I pray to the almighty that all those who were caught in the landslide should be rescued in good health,” Palaniswami said.