A senior Army officer who coordinated the rescue efforts in landslide-ravaged Wayanad in Kerala, has said that the operation was the largest he had been part of since the devastating 1999 Odisha cyclone.
In a statement on Monday, the Wayanad district authorities said that Major General V T Mathew, who led the rescue operations in Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas, has returned to the Kerala-Karnataka Headquarters in Bengaluru after making the path for rescue of hundreds of people affected by July 30 disaster.
District Collector D R Meghashree bid farewell to the Major General, expressing the state’s gratitude and respect.
According to the statement, Mathew, the General Officer Commanding of Kerala-Karnataka, said despite the challenging weather conditions and unfamiliar terrain, he was extremely satisfied that the force was able to rescue more people and ensure the massive rescue operation was successful.
“Initially, the rescue operations were carried out, risking lives,” Mathew is quoted as saying in the statement issued by the district administration.
He also said that this is the largest rescue operation he has been a part of since the 1999 Odisha cyclone disaster, indicating the magnitude of the Wayanad disaster, the statement said.
Expressing deep sorrow over the loss of lives, including those of children, the elderly, women, and youth, he said that all the army personnel share the grief of the families of the deceased, it added.
Rescue operations were swiftly launched by various forces, including police, fire services, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), following landslides in Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas on July 30.
The Army joined the efforts at 12.30 pm on July 30 and managed to rescue several people in the initial stages of the operation, the statement said.
Major General Mathew arrived and took charge of the rescue mission on July 31.
The team of over 500 personnel included experts from the Madras Engineering Group, who were skilled in building Bailey bridges.
On the first day itself, around 300 people were rescued from the disaster site.
Hailing from Kerala, Mathew has served as a Commanding Officer on the border areas.
He has been awarded the President’s War Service Medal in 2021 and the President’s Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023. He has also served for two years as part of the UN peacekeeping force in African countries Sudan and Congo.
