Hopes of finding survivors fade as rescuers sift through slush and rocks and pull bodies from debris in southern Indian state of Kerala.
Heavy rain in Kerala, one of India's most popular tourist destinations, led to landslides in the Wayanad district early on Tuesday. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]
Published On 1 Aug 20241 Aug 2024
Hopes of finding more than 180 missing people alive waned as rescue workers searched through mud and debris after landslides set off by torrential rains killed at least 194 people in southern India.
The rescue work was challenging in a forested, hilly area while more rain fell on Thursday, said PM Manoj, a spokesman for Kerala state’s top elected official. Nearly 40 bodies were found downstream after being swept some 30km (20 miles) down the Chaliyar river from the area in Wayanad district where the main landslides occurred. Body parts were also recovered.
Torrents of mud and water swept through tea estates and villages in hilly areas in the district early on Tuesday. They flattened houses and destroyed bridges, and rescuers had to pull out people stuck under mud and debris.
Manoj said 187 people were unaccounted for as of Thursday. In addition to the dead and missing, 186 people were injured. Local media reported most of the victims were tea estate workers.
More than 5,500 people have been rescued, the government said, with some 1,100 rescue personnel, helicopters and heavy equipment involved in the operations.
The army was constructing a temporary bridge after the main bridge in one of the worst-affected areas was swept away.
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Kerala, one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, is prone to heavy rains, flooding and landslides. The India Meteorological Department said Wayanad district had received up to 28cm (11 inches) of rain on Monday and Tuesday.
Health workers carry the body of a victim. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]
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Family members try to catch sight of a familiar article of clothing or jewellery from underneath sheets draped over the dead. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]
People wait to check the identity of victims at a morgue following Tuesday's landslides at Meppadi, Wayanad district. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]
The landslides set off by torrential rains have killed at least 194 people. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]
Graves for landslide victims are covered in plastic sheets at a burial site in Wayanad. [Idrees Mohammed/AFP]
Indian Army soldiers assemble a prefabricated bridge across a river at a landslide-affected village in Wayanad. [Handout/PRO Defense Kochi via AP]
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Rescuers use machinery to sift through debris in Chooralmala, Wayanad district. [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]