Kerala tragedy: 190 dead, 200 missing, body parts found under debris

Wayanad (Kerala): Rescuers raced against time under harsh conditions to search for survivors trapped in collapsed buildings, two days after massive landslides struck Kerala's Wayanad district, with the death toll climbing to 190 on Thursday. With nearly 200 people missing, the toll is expected to rise. Till now 100 body parts have been found from under the debris.

Death toll expected to rise

While some unconfirmed reports suggested 276 fatalities, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan confirmed that the landslides have killed at least 190 people. According to the Wayanad district administration, the dead include 27 children and 76 women. More than 225 others have been injured, mostly in the worst-hit areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala, he said.

Rescue efforts hindered

Rescue efforts have been hindered by a combination of challenges, including treacherous terrain due to destroyed roads and bridges, and a shortage of heavy equipment, making it difficult for emergency personnel to clear mud and huge uprooted trees that fell on houses and other buildings.

Rajan, who is in the disaster-struck region coordinating the rescue efforts, said 1,300 personnel from various agencies and the armed forces carried out joint search-and-rescue operations in the area, braving the rains, winds and difficult terrain and without the help of heavy machinery.

40 teams begin work on Friday

40 teams of rescuers began search operations in landslide-hit Wayanad district on the fourth day on Friday.

The search and rescue operations that got underway early morning received an impetus due to the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge that will enable the movement of heavy machinery, including excavators, and ambulances to the worst-affected Mundakkai and Chooralmala hamlets, they said.

The 40 teams will conduct search operations in six zones of the landslides-hit areas -- Attamala and Aaranmala (first), Mundakkai (second), Punchirimattam (third), Vellarimala village (fourth), GVHSS Vellarimala (fifth), and riverbank (sixth).

The joint teams will include personnel from the army, NDRF, DSG, Coast Guard, Navy, and MEG along with three locals and one forest department employee.

In addition to this, a three-pronged search operation will begin, focusing on the Chaliyar River, according to the rescue plan devised by the authorities.

91 relief camps

9,328 people have been relocated to 91 relief camps in the district. Of these, 2,328 people from 578 families displaced due to the landslides at Chooralmala and Meppadi have been moved to nine relief camps.

Political leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others, visited the displaced people, expressing solidarity with them.

"The first priority is rescuing the victims of the Wayanad tragedy," Vijayan said after an all-party meeting here.

He said the rescue operation, with the coordinated efforts of various forces, elected representatives, officials and voluntary organisations and the local people, will continue.

Efforts will continue to search the disaster-affected area and the river to recover the bodies of missing persons, he said while addressing a press conference.

Bailey Bridge built by Indian Army

With the completion of the Bailey Bridge between Chooralmala and Mundakkai, being built by the army, the required equipment for rescue operations can be transported to disaster-affected areas, he said.

Gandhi, a former Congress MP from Wayanad, said the calamity was a "terrible tragedy for Wayanad, Kerala, and the nation."

"We have come here to see the situation. It is quite a painful experience to see that people lost their family members and houses. It's very difficult to speak to people in these circumstances because you really don’t know what to say to them. It's been quite a difficult day for me, but we are going to try and help make sure that the survivors get what is due," he told reporters.

Finalise the count of missing people

Rajan said the authorities are yet to finalise the count of missing people.

"Initially, we used the voter list to identify the missing persons. But since it does not contain the details of the 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.

In the landslide-hit areas, rescuers operators had to deal with challenge of moving through waterlogged soil as they searched destroyed homes and buildings for survivors or bodies.

With search operations underway in the calamity-ravaged Mundakkai, they said heavy machinery was required to remove the huge trees that got uprooted in the landslides and buried several houses.

"We are standing on the terrace of a building and a stench is emanating from underneath, indicating the presence of bodies. The building is fully covered with mud and uprooted trees," a rescuer said.

He said that excavators were available for the operations, but they are insufficient for the task.

"Heavy machinery is required to remove the huge trees and carry out search operations in the collapsed buildings. Only then can we make progress in the search operations," he added.

Rajan said the scale of the rescue mission at Mundakkai is massive, as unlike incidents like this where the damaged area is usually limited to one-to-two kilometres, in this case, the destroyed area is vast.

"Now that the Bailey Bridge has been built, we are able to send heavy machinery across to assist in the search-and-rescue operations," he said.

The Madras Engineering Group of the Indian Army on Thursday completed the construction of the 190-ft-long Bailey Bridge that will help connect the worst-affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala.

Critical care to survivors

Healthcare professionals are working round the clock, grappling with the distressing of providing critical care to severely injured survivors as well as performing autopsies on disfigured bodies.

The Chief Minister's Office, in a statement, said that 143 bodies and several body parts found from the portion of Chaliyar river flowing through Malappuram have been brought to Wayanad.

So far, 58 bodies and 95 body parts have been recovered from the neighbouring Malappuram district, it said.

The Wayanad district administration said that 279 autopsies, including of body parts, have been completed and as many as 107 bodies have been identified.

(Inputs from PTI)