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Local resident Prajeesh made two trips up a hill to rescue people stranded by landslides in Wayanad's Mundakkai last week and before he could seek safety himself, he received a call for a third rescue mission but unfortunately has not returned since.
Prajeesh's jeep was found damaged at Chooralmala leaving the community both concerned and hopeful for their super hero's return.
According to PTI, Prajeesh drove up the hill for a third time, risking his life, but lost control midway due to flood water, mud, and falling boulders.
Prajeesh's damaged jeep was later found down in Chooralmala town, a local said, adding no one has seen him since then.
With heavy heart and teary eyes, the people of Chooralmala village now call him their "super hero."
Hailing from landslide-hit Chooralmala, Prajeesh was already popular among the villagers for his ever-ready-to-help anyone attitude, local people said.
A villager narrating the story of Prajeesh's brave rescue after hearing about the landslides in Mundakkai hamlet said that he put his life at risk twice to rescue the locals stranded there.
"After that, he was about to shift to a safer place with his family members. Suddenly, he got another phone call, following which he again drove up the hill...but this time, he did not return," he said.
Another villager said Prajeesh had been an inevitable presence in all the activities in the village and a favourite of everyone.
"Whether it is a marriage or funeral, he will be there from beginning to end. Like many other people, he personally helped me also a lot, especially during the marriage of my daughter," he said.
Prajeesh's friends said they warned him not to go to the hill when he began his journey for the third time. But he didn't heed them, saying there were more people trapped in Mundakai and that he wanted to save them.
"Prajeesh was the super hero of our land...But we have lost him now," an emotional villager said.
