AMN/ WEB DESK
Rescue workers are continuing search operations in Mundakkai, Attamala and Chooralmala areas in Wayanad district, Police sources said 260 persons have lost their lives so far, of which 99 bodies remain unidentified. 86 dismembered body parts have been recovered from the affected area.
In the wake of the catastrophic landslide at Wayanad in Kerala, Indian Air Force-(IAF) commenced rescue and relief operations in coordination with the NDRF and other agencies from Tuesday.
The death toll in the massive landslide that wrecked havoc in Wayanad district has crossed 260. The Indian Army said, it evacuated 179 stranded people and recovered four bodies from the landslide-hit areas in Wayanad yesterday.
The search operations by relief columns at Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala resumed this morning.
One dog squad has been attached to the search teams. Five JCBs have been shifted to the other side of a stream to clear the debris.
The armed forces resumed the construction of a Bailey bridge across a river tributary at Chooralmala in Wayanad this morning.
The bridge is crucial for transporting men and heavy machinery to the landslide-hit areas of Mundakkai and Attamala. It is expected to be completed by this afternoon or even earlier.
The rescue teams have begun search operations for survivors and the deceased with the help of dog squads.
The entire affected area has been reduced into a tangled mass of uprooted trees, flattened buildings burried under thick layers of mud and boulders.
Clearing the debris is expected to pick up momentum with the arrival of more men and machinery after the completion of the Bailey bridge.
The authorities have decided to step-up search for more bodies in the tributaries and in the adjoining forest areas of Chaliyar river in Malappuram district.
The bodies recovered from Chaliyar will taken to Wayanad for identification by the relatives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolence messages to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu over landslides in Wayanad, Kerala, that took the lives of over a hundred people and injured many more.
The Russian Embassy in India shared a post on X and said Mr. Putin offered his heartfelt condolences and support to India and those affected by the landslides and wished for a speedy recovery.
Iran Embassy in India also extended its sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones in the Wayanad landslides.