Thiruvananthapuram |They were the ones who had first noticed the unusual rise in water levels in the Chaliyar river and alerted villagers to be cautious hours before the world came to know about the deadly landslides that devastated the villages of Wayanad last week.

Since then, personnel of the state Forest Department have been multitasking in rescue and search missions in the hamlets of the hilly district.

They not only guide rescuers in the treacherous hill and forest-fringe landscapes of Mundakkai and Chooralmala during the search operations, but also drive away wild animals to protect those stranded in places that are cut off.

J Shivakumar, a beat forest officer, recalled that several of them had a narrow and miraculous escape during the rescue mission soon after the disaster.

Kalpetta range officer K Hashif and his team risked their lives by crossing a swollen river to rescue people stranded on the other side.

The forest personnel had to drive away wild elephants to protect stranded villagers who ran into the woods seeking to escape from the gushing flood waters.

Photos of forest personnel trekking the fringe areas in search of a missing tribal family went viral on social media platforms recently.

They brought the tribal children back to safety by holding them in their arms and trekking several kilometres through the rocky terrain of Erattukund.

Forest personnel were also at the forefront in fishing out several bodies from the Chaliyar River.

Hundreds of forest officials have been taking part in the search and rescue mission in Wayanad hamlets, where a series of landslides killed hundreds of people and displaced a large number of others.