NILAMBUR: Floating half-dismembered human bodies and motionless babies: the heartbreaking sight seen yesterday in the Chaliyar flood. Thirty-two people who were sleeping in the safety of their homes were washed away in different parts of the Chaliyar River in Nilambur Pothukal, about 100 km away.

A four-year-old with half a head, a 50-year-old with a severed waist, a seven-year-old with a severed head, a 50-year-old with no legs—these blood-curdling horrors...

In a landslide that wiped out an entire village in Wayanad, 11 women, 19 men and two boys were found dead on the banks of the Chaliyar River. Additionally, 25 body parts were found.

The river originates from Chooralmala and flows behind Mundakkai to Chaliyar. At Mundakkai, it first erupted and flowed down Chooralmala, two and a half kilometers away. Then, through Soochipara Falls, through the tributaries of the Chaliyar River, reached Pothukal. The dead bodies were recovered from the ghats of Iruttkuthi, Ambittanpotty, Kunippala, Njettikulam, Machikai, Bhoodanam, Vellilamad, Munderi and Panangayam. The search was led by the fire force, forest department, NDRF, police, emergency response team and locals.

Locals first saw the body of a three-year-old child floating through the Chaliyar at Kunippala yesterday morning at 7.30 am. Pothukal ward member Nassar said that the nearby residents swam and brought the body to shore. Later, the body of a seven-year-old girl was recovered from under the Panangayam bridge. From eight in the morning till noon, as the water level in Chaliyar subsided, more bodies were seen washed ashore. Housewares, appliances, gas cylinders etc. had flooded the Chaliyar since morning and the dead bodies were seen later. The bodies are kept in Nilambur district hospital. An additional forensic team has been deputed for the post-mortem. Bodies will be released to relatives after the DNA test.