Kochi airport shut till Aug 18; death toll 67

​Kochi: Rain fury continued unabated in Kerala, where 67 people have died so far, with the Kochi international airport announced shut till Saturday after water gushed inside the airport area and train services remained suspended in many parts of the state. A red alert has been sounded in 12 of the 14 districts. 

Operations at the Kochi airport have been suspended till August 18 and flights were being diverted to various airports. Airlines including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have announced suspension of their operations to Kochi. " A landslide between Kuzhithurai and Eraniel stations has delayed four trains - Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore express, Kanyakumari-Mumbai CSMT express, Dibugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express and Gandhidham-Tirunelveli Humsafar Express, railway sources said. 

A few passenger trains have been partially hit and rail traffic on Kollam-Punalur-Sengottai section has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions. On Thiruvananhtapuram-Thrissur section, trains will be delayed due to speed restrictions due to rise in water levels in rivers and lakes. 

The engineering department is continuously monitoring the safety of bridges, railways said. According to weathermen, heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds with speed reaching 60 kmph, is expected in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode districts. 

From Kasaragod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south, all rivers are in spate, shutters of several dams, including Mullaperiyar, have been opened. In the high-range Idukki district, an 85-year-old woman was killed in Elakkal and a 52-year-old woman died in Keerithode when mounds of earth fell on their homes.