Wayanad, July 30 (UNI) At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and dozens were feared trapped under the debris as two massive landslides hit Kerala’s Wayanad district amid heavy rain in the early hours on Tuesday, officials said.
Many houses were fully or partially damaged in the landslides at Mundakai and Chooralmala in Vellarimala village in Meppadi panchayat, officials said.
Ten bodies have been recovered from the debris at Mundakai and Chooralmala, and around 30 injured people were admitted to a private hospital at Meppadi, rescue workers said.
Four bodies were recovered by local residents around 6 am and the remaining were recovered around 8.30 am from Chaliyar and Chooralmala nearby, police said.
A bridge and road connecting Mundakai from Chooralmala town were also washed away, so access to the accident site was difficult due to heavy rain, they said.
The Mundakai and Attamala areas were isolated following the impact of the landslide and all schools in the districts have been ordered shut by the district administration, officials said.
According to official sources, the landslides occurred around 2 am and 4 am. Around 400 families residing in Mundakai and Chooralmala areas were affected by the landslides, officials said.
The body of a child was recovered from the Chaliyar river at Kunimala near Pothukal in Malappuram, following the landslide at Mundakkai, a rescue worker said.
Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan said, a five-member team of ministers led by him was on way to Wayanad to coordinate the rescue operations.
Two helicopters from Air Force MH 17 and ALH will depart from Sulur to capture the aerial views and airlift the affected people, an official said.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the district, Rajan said.
A control room was opened at Kozhikode Collectorate (numbers 9656938689 and 8086010833) for coordinating the rescue works, and Wayanad District Collector and State Disaster Management Authorities were camping at the accident site.
Heavy rains hit the parts of the state late evening and a red alert was issued for Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malapuram, Kannur, and Kasargod by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday.
