CHALAKKUDY: Padinjakkara Tharavadu house in Pariyaram West is in mourning over the death of six members of the family in a month after contracting Covid in Mumbai. The virus claimed the lives of family members who settled in Mumbai.

Padinjakkara P.K. Paul's daughter Valsala (64) was the first to die on April 8. Within a week, Paul's wife, Selena, 88, also died. Valsala's son Tony (36) and Paul's brother Padinjakkara Devasikutty later died. Devassikutty, who passed away on April 22, was 86 years old.

Paul's other daughter, Gracie, 62, also succumed to Covid within two days. Paul's son Tony, 36, died on May 12. Although they were treated at Mumbai's top hospitals, family member Joshi George, a retired sports teacher, said the shortage of vaccines and other drugs had led to the family's mass death. They had worked for various companies in Mumbai for decades and last came to Pariyaram two and a half years ago.