Wayanad: In a daring move, a team of four dedicated forest officials rescued four toddlers and their parents belonging to a tribal community in landslide hit Wayanad.
A four-member team led by Kalpetta Range Forest Officer K.Hashis and included Mundakkayam Section Forest Officer Jayachandran, Kalpetta Range Beat Forest Officer K Anil Kumar, and Kalpetta Rapid Response Team member Anoop Thomas took a four hour trek amid heavy rain and rocky terrain and rescued the family along with the toddlers. The toddlers were aged between one to four.
According to reports, the family belonged to the Paniya community of Wayanad, was stranded in a cave atop a hill. The forest Officer K Hashis spotted the mother of the children wandering around Attamala forest in search of food. They came to know that the entire family were stranded in the cave without food.
The woman then led the forest officers to a cave where the four toddlers,were taking shelter. The children were tired and were fed with whatever food they had carried along with them. Later, after much difficulty, their father agreed to come along with them. They tied the children to their bodies and started their trek back. The officers with much difficulty had to tie ropes to the trees and rock to climb the slippery rocks.
The tribal family was brought to safety in an eight-hour mission to the Attamala anti-poaching office where they were given proper food and clothes.
Later, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to social media and said, “Six precious lives were saved from a remote tribal settlement after a tireless 8-hour operation by our courageous forest officials in landslide-hit Wayanad. Their heroism reminds us that Kerala’s resilience shines brightest in the darkest times. United in hope, we will rebuild and emerge stronger.”