Woman killed, five injured as mountain rocks cause houses to collapse

In the accident, one house was completely destroyed and three others were partially damaged. Rescue teams are working to rescue the people trapped under the debris. “We have recovered the body of the deceased and rescued five others. Efforts are underway to find and rescue two more people who are suspected to be trapped,” said Machavaram CI Ch Prakash.

Dr Shyam, in-charge of Vijayawada Government General Hospital (GGH), confirmed that one person was admitted dead and five others, who were rescued from the rubble, are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Locals said the incident occurred around 7 am when heavy boulders slid down from a nearby mountain, causing severe damage to houses in Sunnapu Battila area. The cause of the rockfall is believed to be the persistent heavy rain that has been lashing Vijayawada since Friday evening, triggered by a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal.

When the news of the disaster reached the police, the municipal administration and the district administration rushed to the spot to coordinate rescue operations. Gadde Ram Mohan Rao, MP for Vijayawada East, Dr. G Srijana, District Collector of NTR and other police officials also visited the spot to take stock of the situation.

In view of the heavy rains that have caused significant flooding in low-lying areas and affected vehicular movement due to submerged roads, NTR District Collector Srijana has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in the district on Saturday.