Four people were buried alive in a landslide at Muttalli in Bhatkal taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the early hours of Tuesday, even as heavy rain triggered flash floods in Chauthani river and inundated several houses in the town.
Lakshmi Narayan Naik (60), her daughter Lakshmi Naik (45), son Ananth Narayan Naik (35) and her nephew Praveen Balakrishna Naik (20) were killed in their sleep when a portion of a hill and boulders came crashing down on their house at the foothill.
Lakshmi Narayan Naik was employed at a hotel while her son Ananth was a centering worker. Praveen, a college student and a resident of Badegab, had stayed back at his aunt's house as he could not leave for his village on Monday evening.
The landslip went unnoticed due to unrelenting rain in the night. Officials rushed to the spot after being alerted by the family's neighbours on Tuesday morning. The bodies were retrieved and handed over to relatives after autopsy.
Four families around the foothill have been evacuated. Many fishing boats and cattle were washed away in the torrential downpour. Flood relief centres have been opened at many places.
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