The death toll in the Wayanad landslide incident has increased to six after rescue teams recovered three more bodies from the affected site on Thursday, officials said. Search operations are still underway to locate two workers who remain missing.
The recovered bodies have been identified as migrant workers who were involved in the Anakkompoyil–Meppadi tunnel project, where the landslide took place. They include Azharuddin Ansari, a surveyor from Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Sharma, an engineer from Himachal Pradesh, and Mohammed Imran, an excavator operator from Bihar.
Authorities said efforts are continuing to trace the two missing workers — Rakesh Guchait, a surveyor from West Bengal, and Vikram Rana, a construction manager from Himachal Pradesh.
Kerala Ministers AP Anil Kumar and T Siddique, who are supervising the rescue efforts at the site, said one body was found in Zone 1 during the morning search, while two others were recovered from Zone 3 near the river area.
"Searches will be carried out in Zones 1 and 2 of the area. We will also focus the search operations near the river," Anil Kumar said.
Bodies to be handed over to family members after autopsy
Siddique said the postmortem examinations of the recovered bodies would be conducted at Vythiri Taluk Hospital. The bodies would later be embalmed at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital before being transported to the workers’ respective home states.
The district administration said a large rescue team has been deployed for the operation. The team includes 70 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, 110 members of the Fire and Rescue Services, and nearly 100 police officers. Twelve heavy earth-moving machines, including Hitachi excavators and JCBs, are also being used in the search.
Families living in low-lying areas shifted
Meanwhile, 57 families living in landslide-prone areas have been shifted to two relief camps set up at Meppadi Polytechnic College and the Government UP School in Cheeral village, officials said.
The landslide took place on July 7 near the site of the Anakkompoyil–Meppadi tunnel project, which is being built to connect Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.
Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan had earlier said that rescue operations would remain the government’s top priority. He also confirmed that 10 people were injured in the incident. Of them, three have been discharged from hospitals, four are undergoing treatment and remain stable, while three others are in the ICU, with two reported to be in critical condition.
