Seven people died after a large boulder from the hills fell onto a residence after heavy rainfall in Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu.

The incident took place around 4 pm on December 1, in the VOC Nagar area on 11th Street. The boulder crashed into the home of Rajkumar, killing him, his wife Meena (27), their children Gowtham (8) and Viniya (5), as well as two other individuals, Ramya (7), Vinodhini (16), and Maha (7).

Authorities have confirmed the recovery of five bodies, while a search operation is still ongoing for the remaining two victims. Experts from IIT Madras have arrived at the site to assess the situation. Narasimha Rao, a retired professor from IIT Madras’ Civil Engineering Department, expressed concern over the potential danger posed by loose soil and large rocks, adding that further analysis will determine the extent of the threat.

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Dr. S. Mohan, another retired IIT Madras professor from the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, stated that a detailed report would be prepared for the government to inform future safety measures. The landslide was triggered by continuous rainfall from Cyclone Fengal, which has caused widespread disruption in the region.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke about the incident, “In Tiruvannamalai on December 1 around 4 pm due to heavy rainfall a big rock from hills fell on the residence of a man identified as Rajkumar at VOC Nagar, 11th Street. His residence was battered and buried in rock and soil. 7 people have died under debris. NDRF and Commandos were on a rescue mission. Fire and rescue efforts were done. We expected 7 to be rescued alive, but on December 2 evening around 6.30 pm, we started recovering bodies.” he said on X.

#CycloneFengal மற்றும் அதி கனமழை காரணமாக திருவண்ணாமலை வ.உ.சி.நகரில் வசித்து வந்த ராஜ்குமார் என்பவரது வீட்டின் மீது நேற்று மாலை 4 மணியளவில் மலையில் ஏற்பட்ட நிலச்சரிவின் காரணமாக பாறை மற்றும் கற்கள் உருண்டோடி வந்து விழுந்தன.

மண்மூடிய அவரது வீட்டில், ராஜ்குமார், அவரது மனைவி மற்றும்… pic.twitter.com/IL8NJZYHDi

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) December 2, 2024