26 child survivors of Kerala landslide left to grapple with their fate, alone

Plus II student Gopika, and Hemalatha, studying for a degree course, were in Thiruvananthapuram in the wee hours of August 7 when about 280km away, in their home district, a massive landslide wiped off their house in Pettimudy killing their parents. They were among the 82 people living in a residential colony of tea plantation workers who were swept off and buried under massive mounds of earth and slush in a matter of few minutes. Fifty-five bodies have been recovered so far.