Kerala floods: Cut off from his family, this man pleads for help

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

Jebin James

had a miraculous escape from the flood affected area at Aranmula as he was airlifted along with five of his friends to safety. He is being housed at Sivagiri convention centre, Varkala. However, Jebin cannot be relieved as has been frantically trying to reach his family who are still trapped in their two storied house at Chakkittapady near Aranmula.


Here's how you can help flood-hit people of Kerala


His wife Rupa M George, six-month-old baby Ryan, his mother

Jesse James

, father James Abraham and his 87-year-old grandmother Saramma Abraham have been living without food and water for the last two days in their house at Chakkittapady.

When the water began to rise on Wednesday, he had sensed danger and called his friends from Mavelikkara for help. They all managed to get a boat and were on their way to his house to take his family, when the boat overturned and all of them got stuck in the flood. One of them injured his leg.

They were lucky enough to hold on to something for a day from where they were airlifted by the rescue team and brought to Varkala by Thursday evening.

"Their phones are switched off. They haven’t had anything for the last two days including my six month old baby. Hopefully any of the rescue teams could take them to me," he said.

Jebin and his friends Jayasurya, Harisankar, Vinodkumar, Mahendran were brought to Varkala helipad in the second helicopter on Thursday. The first helicopter to Varkala had carried 17 people of which 10 have left for their relatives’ houses in Thiruvananthapuram. Jebin’s friends left for Mavelikkara on Friday morning. Taluk officials have been preparing to receive more people from flood affected areas and are reaching out to rescue officials to unite Jebin with his family.