Kerala landslides: death toll rises to 237; hundreds missing; rescue operations continue

August 1, 2024

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM – The death toll in the devastating landslides that struck Wayanad on Tuesday has risen to 237 with at least 240 people reported missing. Hundreds have been injured, and thousands have been displaced.

Amid hundreds trapped under the debris and the fear of more deaths, rescue teams resumed operations early on Wednesday to locate the remaining survivors. Rescue workers from the Army, Navy, and NDRF are searching under collapsed roofs and debris for victims and possible survivors of the landslides.

The Army is carrying out the rescue operation in Churalmala in four groups. A temporary bridge built by it is being used for rescue operations in the Churalmala River. People who are trapped in the Mundakai Attamala area are being brought through the bridge. An Air Force helicopter is also being used to airlift the injured in Churalmala.

Heart-wrenching scenes of dead bodies in sitting and lying positions inside destroyed houses could be seen as rescue operations resumed in the landslide-devastated Mundakkai hamlet. Painful 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.

Two Odisha natives are among those missing. They are identified as Dr Swadheen Panda and Dr Bishnu Chinhara, Delhi-based doctors who were staying in Mundakkai at the time of the tragedy.

Wayanad has been devastated by three landslides that occurred at Meppadi, Mundakkai and Chooralmala within a span of 4 hours. The first landslide occurred in Mundakkai town at around 1 am on Tuesday during heavy rain, washing away houses and families. While the rescue operations were ongoing, a second landslide struck near Chooralmala School at around 2 am. Then a third landslide occurred at around 4am.

The rescue teams informed that more than 800 people have been rescued from Mundakai. All the trapped people have been shifted to safer places. Rescue workers are not ruling out the possibility of more people being trapped under debris in Attamala and Churalmala.

Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha villages were the areas hit and cut off by the landslides. Mundakkai town was completely swept away by the landslide.

Most of the victims were asleep when the landslides struck between 1 am and 4 am on Tuesday. 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.

Indian Army personnel on Wednesday carried out a daring rescue mission, saving 19 civilians stranded in the Ela Resort and Vana Rani Resort, located beyond landslide-hit Mundakkai village in the Wayanad district. Despite the challenges posed by the flooding of river, they utilised ropes and formed a human bridge to ensure the safe evacuation of all civilians to Chooralmala. The search and rescue teams have rescued nearly 2,000 people trapped under collapsed roofs and debris of destroyed houses

Meanwhile, several companies of the Army moved from Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru to Wayanad to join the rescue and relief operations. They included those experienced in disaster relief, medical teams, ambulances, and other equipment, it said

The process of identifying the victims is going on. Bodies are kept at Meppadi Social Health Center and Nilambur District Hospital. Currently, 191 people are admitted to various hospitals in the district.

Of the bodies recovered so far, some have been found in the Chaliyar river which flows into the neighbouring Malappuram district. The river carried 72 bodies, or rather parts of human bodies mutilated by the vengeful landslide, for around 25 km to Pothukallu near Nilambur in the Malappuram district. Many bodies are yet to be identified.

Heart-wrenching scenes of people searching for their loved ones among the injured and the dead were seen in the hospitals in Meppadi and Kalpetta and other places in the district. As many as 81 relief camps have been established in Wayanad, accommodating around 8,100 people.

The Mundakkai village has been utterly ravaged by the landslide. In Mundakkai, where there were more than 400 houses, only 30 remain now. Mundakai is in a situation where it is impossible to know how many people have died or even how many people are safe.

Meanwhile, the army has decided to construct a Bailey bridge on Chooralmala river.The materials for the construction of the Bailey bridge were delivered at the Kannur airport for rescue operations in the Wayanad landslide disaster. It was brought to Kannur in an air force flight. The equipment and parts of the bridge will reach Wayanad in around 10 trucks . Kerala revenue Minister K Rajan informed that the construction of Bailey bridge will help speed up the rescue operation.