Wayanad landslides: Over 275 dead, 240 missing; rescue operations continue
KERALA, AUG 1 : Rescue and relief operations continue for the third day in Wayanad, with the death toll from Tuesday’s landslides rising to 275 and at least 240 people still missing.
The agony and sighs of rescued people linger over the uneasy silence of the dead, buried beneath slush and concrete rubble in the landslide-hit regions of Wayanad. Heart-wrenching images of a father searching for his missing daughter, along with others in similar situations, played out on television screens, even as Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan stated that exact figures for those missing after the landslides are still not available.
State health minister Veena George said, “256 autopsies have been done. 154 bodies have been handed over to district administration. Bodies found in Nilambur and Pothukal have also been recovered, and autopsies have been completed.”
Several people remain missing in the landslide-hit region, where rescue operators are contending with adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings for survivors or bodies.
Tea-plantation workers who lived in the estate lanes of Chooralmala and Mundakkai have been the worst-affected by the disaster. While rescue operations are in full swing, it remains unclear how many tea-estate workers and family members died in the disaster.Wayanad,
Equipment like JCBs is required to be transported to the site to ensure proper search operations in the worst-affected areas, such as Mundakkai.
The Indian Army, in coordination with the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG), will carry out search operations at three locations: Attamala, Mundakkai, and Chooralmala.
“Each team is to be accompanied by a dog squad. Five JCBs have been shifted to the west side of the stream to clear debris and facilitate search operations. The launching of a 190-foot bridge is expected to be completed by today afternoon. Simultaneously, the construction of an improvised footbridge has been completed,” read an official Army statement.
Major General VT Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, said on Thursday said that more than 100 bodies have been recovered after multiple devastating landslides struck Wayanad in Kerala, adding that over 500 Army personnel are engaged in the search and rescue operation
“We have been here supporting the Kerala government and people since the 30th of July morning. We have recovered 100+ bodies, and the overall body count is much more. We have also rescued so many people,” the Major General said.
An all-party meeting, chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, will be held in the hill district on Thursday. State ministers camping in the district, MLAs from Wayanad and political party leaders will participate in the meeting, the district administration said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will reach Wayanad to take stock of the situation. They will visit relief camps set up in the landslide-hit areas of the district, according to a party statement.
Notably, massive landslides caused by heavy rains hit the villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha early Tuesday, destroying several houses, swelling water bodies, uprooting trees, and wiping entire villages off the map.
Heart-wrenching scenes and phone conversations of people crying and pleading to be rescued, trapped in their houses, or stranded were seen after the landslides left a trail of death and destruction in the hill district.
Most of the victims were asleep when the landslides struck between 1:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Huge boulders and uprooted trees rushed down from Mundakkai to Chooralmala, causing severe damage. The heavy water surge from the hilltop altered the small Iruvazhinji river, flooding everything along its banks. Several houses were destroyed, a temple and a mosque were submerged, and a school building was severely damaged.
-PTI
