Wayanad landslide, The death toll in the landslide that occurred two days ago in Wayanad, Kerala has risen to 308 while about 200 people are still missing. Search and rescue operations are still going on in the landslide-affected Choorlamalla in Wayanad. According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, the death toll is currently 308. At the same time, state Revenue Minister K. Rajan said that according to the Wayanad district administration, 27 children and 76 women are also among the dead. He said that more than 225 people have been injured, most of whom are from the worst affected areas of Mundakkai and Choorlamalla.
1300 personnel of the armed forces are engaged in relief and rescue operations
The minister said rescue operations were facing a number of challenges, including dangerous terrain with destroyed roads and bridges, and a shortage of heavy equipment. This made it difficult for emergency workers to clear mud and uprooted huge trees that had fallen on homes and other buildings, he said.
Rajan, who is coordinating rescue operations in the disaster-hit area, said that 1300 personnel from various agencies and armed forces carried out a joint search and rescue operation in the area, braving rain, wind and difficult terrain, without the help of heavy machinery. According to Rajan, 9328 people from the district have been shifted to 91 relief camps. He said that out of these, 2328 people from 578 families displaced due to landslides in Choorlamala and Meppadi have been shifted to nine relief camps. Many leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met the displaced people and expressed solidarity with them. Vijayan said after an all-party meeting here that the first priority is to rescue the victims of the Wayanad tragedy.
Addressing a press conference, Vijayan said the search will continue in the disaster-hit area and the river to recover the bodies of the missing persons. He said the completion of the Bailey bridge being constructed by the Army between Choorlamalla and Mundakkai will enable the necessary equipment for rescue operations to be transported to the disaster-hit areas.
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Indian Army’s Engineering Corps is providing all possible help
Rajan said the authorities were yet to ascertain the number of missing people. “Initially we used the voter list to identify the missing people. But since it does not have details of children, we are now relying on ration cards and other details. We are trying to identify the missing people by checking the ration card details and with the help of ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers,” he said. Rajan said the scale of the rescue operation in Mundakkai is huge because unlike similar incidents where the damaged area is usually limited to a kilometre or two, the area destroyed in this case is much larger. “Now a Bailey bridge has been built and we are able to send heavy machinery to assist in search and rescue operations,” he said.
The Indian Army’s Madras Engineering Corps on Thursday completed the construction of a 190-foot long Bailey bridge that will help connect the worst-affected areas of Mundakkai and Choorlamalla. Healthcare workers are working day and night, facing the challenge of providing vital medical care to the seriously injured as well as conducting post-mortems on mutilated bodies.
The dead also include 27 children and 76 women
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement that 143 bodies and human body parts recovered from the stretch of Chaliyar river flowing through Malappuram have been brought to Wayanad. According to the statement, so far 58 bodies and 95 human body parts have been recovered from Malappuram district. The Wayanad district administration said in a statement that the 308 dead also include 27 children and 76 women. It also said that 279 postmortems including human body parts have been completed and 107 bodies have been identified. According to the district administration, so far 100 human body parts have been recovered from under the debris.