Kerala: The search for survivors of the landslides that rocked Indian tea farms on Wednesday and killed at least 150 people—the majority of whom were thought to be laborers and their families—was impeded by unceasing downpours and howling winds.
Relief operations are made more difficult by blocked roads into the Wayanad district disaster region, which has been severely damaged by days of intense monsoon rains in Kerala, a coastal state in southern India.
One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Kerala, saw heavy rains early on Tuesday, causing landslides that swept many to their deaths as they slept, burying them under rivers of mud, water, and falling rocks.
Since many landslides occurred on Tuesday before daybreak, 500 people have been rescued, senior police official M.R. Ajith Kumar told AFP.
“We have received over 150 bodies thus far,” he stated. “We still need to search and explore large areas to determine whether or not there are living people there.”
The death toll was reported at 177 by the local Asianet news TV program.
Since the catastrophic floods in 2018, it was the greatest tragedy to hit the state. According to experts, the area had seen intense rains over the previous two weeks, softening the soil. On Monday, very high rainfall caused the landslides.
After the primary bridge connecting the most severely impacted area of Mundakkai to the closest town of Chooralmala was demolished, the Indian Army claimed to have rescued 1,000 people and to have started the process of building a backup bridge.
A land excavator at the location of the washed-away bridge was gradually clearing trees and stones from a pile of rubble. It was raining steadily as rescue personnel in raincoats cautiously made their way over mud and rocks.
A fire and rescue worker named Hamsa T A pointed to the rubble and stated, “We are pretty sure there are multiple bodies here.” “There were numerous homes here, and the occupants have vanished.”
Top state police official M R Ajith Kumar told Reuters that the majority of the landslides occurred on the upper slopes of hills and cascaded to the valley below.
“At this time, the priority is to recover as many bodies as possible and search the entire uphill area for stranded people,” he stated.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian opposition and a former parliamentarian for Wayanad, claimed he was unable to complete a scheduled visit to the catastrophe site.
