Kollam: Students trapped in the forest at Achankovil in Kollam were rescued. 32 students and 2 teachers of Klappana Shanmukha Vilasam School were trapped in the forest at Tuvalmala during heavy rain. Rescuers have no health problems.
They are students belonging to the Scouts & Guides of Clapana Higher Secondary School. Efforts made by the police and forest department with the help of locals to bring the children back were successful.
It was around 3:30 in the morning that everyone was brought out of the forest. Heavy rain was a crisis for the rescue operation. The group got stuck in the forest five and a half kilometers from the Kotavasal check post area in Aathkovi.
Three days ago, the children had come to Achankovil as part of a study tour of Scouts and Guides. On Sunday morning, the group was going for a trek under the guidance of the forest guards in the Kotavasal area.
They entered the forest yesterday at 11 o’clock and were supposed to return at 3 o’clock in the evening.
But on their way back, they got stuck inside the forest due to heavy rain. They got stuck here due to heavy fog and heavy rain in the forest.
It was at night that the authorities came to know that the group was stuck in the forest. After receiving the information, the police and the forest department made efforts to bring out the student group at the incident site, but due to heavy rain, the rescue operation was hampered.
With the rain and fog, the descent of the mountain was hampered. Then by dusk the group stopped walking and waited for the rain to subside. But the fog was gathering. With that, the information was reported to the forest department office in Aathkovil.
About 15 forest department officials and police reached the incident site despite the rain. At nine o’clock in the night, they learned where the gangs were and moved them to a safe place.
