Akkulam earth cave-in: apartment residents relocated

All residents of PRS Lake Villa apartments at Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram have been shifted out after removal of earth in a private school compound led to collapse of a stretch of the road in the front of the apartment complex.

District Collector Anju K.S., who is also the chairperson of the District Disaster management authority, had on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) issued orders for suspending the construction of a building of Good Shepherd School as well as urgent evacuation of the residents of the apartments.

Of the 58 families living in the apartment, 41 have been shifted to hotels, while the rest have moved in with relatives or others.

The school will bear the expenses of alternative accommodation for the residents.

Authorities said the school had begun construction of a retaining wall, but the work had not been completed. Removal of earth from a side without the retaining wall led to the cave-in, barely 4 m from the apartment. A 50-m stretch of the road in front of the apartment also collapsed.

A structural engineer had visited the site and a technical team comprising representatives from the Public Works, Soil Conservation, and the Mining and Geology departments and the village officer would examine what reinforcement measures needed to be adopted to prevent further movement of soil. Only then could the residents of the apartment return home.

Unscientific soil removal

An investigation had found that the school authorities removed the earth unscientifically, without taking safety precautions or building a retaining wall as per permit stipulations.

The Collector had halted the construction of the school building till any threat to the apartment was fully resolved.