Wayanad landslides: As many as 177 people have died and over 200 injured in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district two days ago on July 30, with the numbers expected to increase even more as rescuers unearth debris, the district administration said today (August 1).
The 177 dead include 25 children and 70 women. It said that the post-mortem of 252 bodies remains to be done and as many as 100 bodies have been identified. It also said that till now 92 body parts have been found from among the debris.
Medical treatment for injured
It further said that 234 people were admitted to hospitals from the disaster-hit areas and of them 92 are still undergoing treatment. Several people remain missing in landslide-hit Wayanad, where rescue operators are contending with adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings for survivors or bodies.
According to the government's official estimate on Wednesday (July 31) evening, 191 people are missing, though official sources indicate that the actual number may be much higher. The landslides occurred around 2:00 am and 4:10 am on Tuesday (July 30), catching people off-guard while they were sleeping, leading to a high number of casualties.
Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains struck the picturesque hamlets of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction and despair.
Our main focus is on rescue operations: Kerala CM
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest. The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting today that was attended by leaders of all political parties, state ministers, and other officials.
"Our focus is to rescue those who were isolated and stranded. I appreciate the efforts of the Army personnel. They have informed us that most of the trapped individuals have been rescued. Bringing down machinery to rescue those trapped under the soil was difficult and building the bridge eased the efforts. The construction of Bailey Bridge has been mostly completed," CM Vijayan said while addressing the media in Wayanad.
The Chief Minister said that rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing people and highlighted that the next focus will be on rehabilitation.
"Rescued people are temporarily shifted to camps. Rehabilitation works will be done at the earliest, as we have done in earlier situations too. I request that the media avoid meeting people and shooting inside the camps. You may talk to them outside the camps, it is important to protect the privacy of the individuals," he said.
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