'Could see their eyes welling up', Kerala landslide survivor recalls elephants guarding her family

A family who survived the mishap, shared about their experience where elephants guarded and 'spared' them during the tough time.

The recent landslides in Kerala claimed many lives. With search operations still under way, 1,300 rescuers, heavy machinery and sophisticated equipment are being deployed to look for survivors from the ravages of the landslides that have killed more than 200 people.

A family who survived the mishap, shared their experience where elephants guarded and 'spared' them during the tough time.

As per the report by The Times Of India, Sujatha Aninanchira narrated the incident, where her home was destroyed due to the landslide, and as they climbed to a hillock, they saw a tusker and two female elephants standing just inches away from them.

Sujatha, who has been working as a tea picker lived with her daughter, husband and 2 grandchildren in Mundakkai for past 18 years.

She recounted the moment and said that the tusker seemed to understand their situation and did not harm them. Sujatha who was with her granddaughter somehow spent the night in the same place.

She told the publication that she 'requested' the elephant to spare them.

"I mumbled a request to the elephant, saying I had just survived a disaster and asked it to spare us to allow us to lie down for the night and let someone rescue us," she said, as quoted by The Times Of India.

Sujatha explained how the elephants stood there till they were rescued by some people in the morning. "I could see its eyes welling up as the dawn broke," she said.

The roof of Sujatha's house had collapsed and her daughter sustained severe injuries. However, all the family members safely managed to reach a safer space.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sharing about this moment on his X account wrote, "The homeless landslide victims confided their misery to a tusker, who wept for them and sheltered them all night…."

(With PTI inputs)