Wayanad Landslide Highlights: Rescue ops in Chooralmala enter Day 4; death toll goes past 300

Rescue teams on Friday deployed advanced technical gadgets and dogs to pull out possible survivors or remove bodies buried under the debris created by one of the worst natural calamities to have struck Kerala, the Wayanad landslides, even as hands of friendship extended from far corners of the state to the hilly district.

Among them was a Kollam woman who has parted with her meagre savings to benefit the affected persons here. A teaseller, Subaida may not have matched the businesspersons and celebrities who donated lakhs of rupees towards relief and rehabilitation efforts, but her contribution of Rs 10,000 and the family pensions was a gesture worth the mention.

On Friday, rescuers used GPS coordinates from aerial drone pictures and cell phones, including the last location of people who lived in the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad to help locate survivors, amidst accelerated search operations after the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge by the Army.

Raising hopes for life inside a collapsed building, which is thickly covered by mud, rescuers conducting search operations with an advanced radar system in the landslide-hit Mundakkai village have detected a signal indicating breathing. (PTI)

Kerala General Education Minister, V Sivankutty, on Friday said at least 49 children have either been missing or dead in the devastating landslides that hit Wayanad district three days ago.

Speaking to the media here, Sivankutty said the Government Higher Secondary School at Vellarimala has been completely destroyed by the natural disaster, while four other schools in the vicinity have also suffered major or minor damage.

"As per the reports, 49 children are either dead or missing. The Vellarimala GHSS has been completely destroyed. The GLPS Mundakkai has been partially damaged. Three other schools have also suffered minor damage," he said.

The minister added that many of the surviving children have lost their textbooks and certificates, among others, and the government will consider all these matters and help them after a discussion with the chief minister.

"The Vellarimala GHSS has to be rebuilt. The other four schools, including that at Mundakkai, require some maintenance work," he added. (PTI)

Rescuers conducting search operations with an advanced radar system in a landslide-hit village in Wayanad have detected a signal indicating breathing, possibly by a human or animal.

An official involved in the operation said that a "blue signal" was received on the radar while searching an area where a house was previously located in the severely affected Mundakkai village.

"There is a consistent signal of breathing," the officer told reporters.

The remains of the building are buried around two-to-three metres below the muddy soil, and it is unclear whether the breathing signal is from a human or animal, he added.

According to local residents, the signal was detected in the area where the kitchen and store room of the house were located.

Based on the signal, rescuers have started digging into the spot. (PTI)

The number of people who have died in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district three days ago has gone up to 210, Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said on Friday.

According to the figures released by Riyas at a press conference here, 210 bodies, including that of 83 women and 29 children, have been recovered.

Of them, 119 bodies have been handed over to relatives of the deceased persons, the minister said.

Meanwhile in a bright spot amid the gloom, on Friday -- three days after the massive landslides, when hope of finding survivors is dwindling -- rescuers were able to reach a family of four isolated in an area near Padavetti Kunnu here and moved them to a relief camp, he said.

Around 1,374 rescue personnel are continuing search operations in the landslide-hit areas, the minister said.

Additionally, ground penetrating radars and drones are also being used as part of the search-and-rescue operations, he said. (PTI)

Three days after the Mundakkai region in Wayanad district witnessed a devastating landslide, rescue workers on Friday found a family of four isolated in an area near Padavetti Kunnu, Defence sources said.

A massive search and rescue operation is ongoing in the Mundakkai region, which was hit by a massive landslide on Tuesday.

The rescuers on Friday found that the family, comprising two males and two females, was isolated after the landslide cut off their house from the rest of the region.

A Defence PRO said Vellarimala residents, John K J, Jomol John, Christene John and Abraham John were rescued and "evacuated through a safe route to a nearby relief camp." Earlier, there were plans to airlift the family but later a safe route was identified, sources said.

"The family was stuck in the house since Tuesday. They were safe and healthy, but scared after the incident," Defence sources said.

The family agreed to shift to the relief camp after the rescuers including the Army and the NDRF team assured a safe route from their residence to the camp. (PTI)

The unidentified bodies of those who died in the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad will be buried in public graveyards in the hill district, the authorities here said on Friday.

The facilities for the burial have been arranged in graveyards at various locations including Kalpetta municipality, Vythiri, Muttil, Kaniyambatta, Padinjathara, Thondarnad, Edavaka and Mullankolly Grama Panchayats, an official statement said.

The statement said that 74 unidentified bodies are currently being kept in various locations within the Meppadi Grama Panchayat and will be handed over to the concerned local self-government secretaries. The bodies will be buried after the necessary procedures are completed.

Registration Department Inspector General Sreedhanya Suresh has been appointed as the nodal officer responsible for overseeing the registration, storage and burial of the bodies. (PTI)

Leader of Opposition in Parliament(LoP) and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi today said that he will raise the Wayanad landslide in Delhi added that Kerala has not seen this type of tragedy in one area.

Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached Wayanad yesterday after massive landslides hit the district three days ago taking over 300 lives. " Congress promises to build more than 100 houses in Wayanad," said Rahul Gandhi today.

With the Kerala government Thursday confirming that “all those who are alive” at the landslide-hit villages have been rescued, the death toll from Tuesday’s tragedy is likely to cross 300.

With the recovery of a few more bodies till Thursday noon, the official toll has reached 177. Besides, around 170 persons are missing, as per official data. Of the 177 confirmed deaths, 81 are men, 70 women and the rest children. So far, only 98 bodies have been identified.

Apart from the confirmed deaths, rescue workers have fished out 92 body parts, mainly from the Chaliyar river in Malappuram’s Nilambur region. As many as 252 post-mortems, including of the body parts, have been conducted, officials said. Read more

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with sister Priyanka visited landslides-hit areas of Wayanad on Thursday and said he was "deeply pained" to see people who have lost family members and homes in the tragedy, calling it a "national disaster" and demanded an urgent comprehensive action plan.

"I remember what I felt when my father died. Here, people have not just lost their fathers, they have lost their entire families. I know what I have felt and it is much worse than that. It is not one person who is feeling it. It is thousands of people who are feeling it. So, it is very very sad.

"I think we all owe these people respect and affection, and we should all be standing with them. I am very proud that a lot of people are standing with the people of Wayanad. The whole nation's attention is towards Wayanad and I am sure that the people of the nation are going to help Wayanad," he said.

When asked about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks blaming the state government with regard to the loss of life in the landslides, Gandhi said it was not the time or place to discuss politics.

"People here require help. The time right now is to make sure that they get all the assistance they need. There are people here who are in shock. They need medical assistance. I think those are the things we should be discussing. I am not interested in talking about politics now. (PTI)

Ten of Kerala's total 14 districts, including Wayanad, are among the country's 30 most landslide prone districts, the Landslide Atlas of India released by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), had stated in 2023.

The atlas placed Wayanad in the 13th position for being vulnerable to landslides. The number of people affected and succumbing to heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides, and related incidents have been increasing during recent years.

On Tuesday, multiple massive landslides had hit Meppadi and Chooramala areas at Wayanad in Kerala, killing over a hundred while several are still reportedly missing.

Kerala has been experiencing mammoth losses to property and significant casualties every monsoon season since the devastating floods of August 2018. The Isro's Atlas underscored occurrence of landslide events in Kerala, especially post 2018. Read more

Bailey bridge has been assembled at Chooralmala to reach worst-hit village Mundakkai. The death toll has risen to 277, with over 200 injured as of Thursday morning, following a series of devastating landslides in the hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan while talking to NDTV today ealier today said that real assessment has not been possible because the rescue forces have not been able to reach the first site affected by landslide yet. “The bodies which have been recovered are mostly from a village which has been devastated because the river has changed it course due to the landslide. After the Bailey bridge is built within few hours we will access to the first village impacted."

Describing the landslide in Kerala's Wayanad as a "grave disaster," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed her deep sorrow over the incident and extended her condolences to the families of the victims.

Banerjee said two Trinamool Congress MPs, Saket Gokhale and Sushmita Dev, would travel to the affected areas in the southern state to provide assistance and support to the families impacted by the disaster.

In a post on X, she said, "We are greatly perturbed by the news of the Wayanad landslides in Kerala. It is really a grave disaster. On humanitarian grounds, we are sending a team of two of our MPs, Saket Gokhale & Sushmita Dev, to visit the affected areas." The CM said the MPs will stay there for two days and extend full assistance and cooperation for the well-being of the suffering families.

The landslides, which occurred two days ago, claimed 177 lives and left over 200 injured, with the toll expected to rise as rescue operations continue (PTI)

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan while talking to NDTV today said that real assessment has not been possible because the rescue forces have not been able to reach the first site affected by landslide yet. "The bodies which have been recovered are mostly from a village which has been devastated because the river has changed it course due to the landslide. After the Bailey bridge is built within few hours we will access to the first village impacted. Right now it's rescue and relief. All those living on the banks of this new course of the river, they have been removed. Rescue and relief work is being done in full force and army and defence forces have been assisting district administration. The district collector is on ground and a large number of volunteers are present," said Khan in a conversation with NDTV.

Khan chose not to comment on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech in Parliament yesterday saying that multiple alerts for Wayanad were issued before, claims which were denied by Kerala CM Vijayan.

"Witnessing these scenes of tragedy deeply pains my heart. In these difficult times, Priyanka and I stand with the people of Wayanad. We are closely monitoring the relief, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts, ensuring that all necessary assistance is provided. The UDF is committed to extending all possible support.

The repeated incidents of landslides and natural calamities are extremely concerning. A comprehensive action plan is urgently needed," said Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have arrived at the Wayanad landslide disaster site and also visiting relief camps and the medical college to support and meet with the affected families.