The accident happened near Burliar on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor Ghat Road
Continuous downpours triggered landslides at more than 19 locations on the ghat road. Babu, an omnibus driver ferrying 40 passengers from Ooty to Bengaluru, recounted a terrifying night: “The TNSTC govt bus was right behind us when the hillside caved in. On Friday evening, Bhojan, 58, of Sedikkal tribal village near Kotagiri lost his life while he was returning after attending a funeral at Koppaiyur. In Theetukal near Ooty, a 100-foot-long, 30-foot-high retaining wall collapsed, flattening two cars and burying six two-wheelers. Emergency personnel pulled watchman Venkatesh, 65, alive from the wreckage.
More than 300 people, including students from Kerala who were on a trip to the Nilgiris, were stranded due to the landslides. Six teams from the fire and rescue services from Coimbatore, alongside personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF), were deployed. They battled the difficult terrain through the night to clear the debris. For travellers, the ordeal was harrowing. Uprooted trunks blocked our forward path. We spent hours in total darkness amid torrential rain until rescue teams broke through. A swollen mountain stream swept him away. Following inspections by Nilgiris collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru and superintendent of police S Brinda between Burliar and Coonoor, authorities enforced strict restrictions. All tourist destinations in the Nilgiris have been shut until further notice. Vehicular traffic on the ghat corridors — via both Coonoor and Kotagiri — remains barred between 6pm and 6am for the next three days. Motorists are advised to postpone all non-essential hill travel. Animal husbandry minister S Kamali, minister for backward classes V Sampath Kumar, Coimbatore district Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, inspector general of police (West Zone) RV Ramya Bharathi, Coimbatore district superintendent of police A Pavan Kumar and officials from various departments were involved in the rescue operations.
They reached the crushed bus around 5am on Saturday and retrieved Janagaraj’s body and rescued Kesavan. They were rescued by rescue teams on Saturday morning.