All six rescued as landslide traps bus in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris amid 250mm deluge

All six people aboard a state transport bus were rescued safely after a landslide trapped the vehicle in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district on Saturday, as heavy rain battered the hill region.

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus, travelling from Coonoor to Coimbatore, was caught in a landslide at Burliyar on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor ghat road in the early hours of Saturday, the New Indian Express reported (https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2026/Oct/24/tamil-nadu-tnstc-bus-with-passengers-trapped-in-landslide-at-nilgiris-burliyar). A tree and debris fell on the bus and slush entered the vehicle, trapping the occupants inside. Fire and Rescue Services teams from six stations reached the spot and freed the occupants, and DTNext reported on Saturday afternoon that all six had escaped unharmed (https://www.dtnext.in/news/tamilnadu/highlights-tamil-nadu-rains-schools-closed-in-5-districts-including-chennai-as-twin-low-pressure-areas-loom).

Burliyar recorded 250mm of rainfall in the 24 hours to 7am on Saturday, the highest in the Nilgiris district, according to Meteorological Department data cited by the New Indian Express. The deluge triggered landslides at more than 10 locations along the Udhagamandalam road, completely disrupting traffic, and rescue personnel used ropes to bring more than 150 school students stranded on the Mettupalayam-Ooty road to safety, DTNext reported.

Schools in six taluks of the Nilgiris were closed amid the heavy rain, and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway service was cancelled after the landslide, The South First reported (https://thesouthfirst.com/tamilnadu/tamil-nadu-rains-burliar-landslide-hits-coonoor-coimbatore-bus-girl-killed-in-virudhunagar-hill-districts-battered-by-heavy-rain/).