This is an archive article published on August 1, 2024
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Wayanad landslide: Inside a health centre that became a camp for identifying the dead
The bodies brought to the health centre — from Mundakkai, Chooralmala and some as far as Nilambur in Malappuram district — were cleaned to remove the mud and dirt before being taken to the identification table.
Relatives of missing people gather around a body kept for identification at a health centre in Meppadi. (Narayanan S)
When the day was winding down at the family health centre in Meppadi on Wednesday, the sparse crowd muttered, “Once more, tomorrow.”
As each ambulance entered the muddied compound, they anxiously waited for the bodies to be taken to the tables inside a makeshift roof for identification. They knew their loved ones wouldn’t come back alive, but all they wanted was closure — a final kiss on the forehead, a dignified funeral.
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Suresh from Mundakkai lost his sister and her family in the deadly landslides in the early hours of Tuesday. He had been here since Tuesday afternoon, and found the bodies of his sister and her husband around midnight. But his niece and his sister’s in-laws remained missing even until Wednesday night.
“She lived near me. I had told her we should move out, considering the weather conditions on Monday. She and her family went to her brother-in-law’s house, which was also nearby. My sister’s son survived because he was at work when the landslide struck. I had moved out of Mundakkai to another sister’s house near Kalpatta. If only she had listened to me,” he said.
He returned to the health centre by Wednesday noon, after the cremation. “I want to find my niece. There is no one left in her family now. It is now my responsibility to ensure that her body is also cremated according to rituals,” he said.
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Shabbir, from Mundakkai, was among those restlessly looking for their loved ones — in his case, his wife’s sister, her husband and their three daughters.
“We have given their details to the authorities. All we can do is wait here,” he said.
The bodies brought to the health centre — from Mundakkai, Chooralmala and some as far as Nilambur in Malappuram district — were cleaned to remove the mud and dirt before being taken to the identification table.
At the information desk to the far left, two or three volunteers gathered information on landslide victims from their relatives. They collected photos from those who could provide them.
Two whiteboards on either side displayed updates on the number of bodies brought in. As of 6.35 pm, 119 bodies had been received — 62 men and 57 women — and 92 had been identified. The whiteboards had another column — of body parts found. On Wednesday evening, that figure stood at nine.
Relatives of missing people gather around a body kept for identification at a health centre in Meppadi. (Narayanan S) 
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