GUWAHATI: The death toll in the Wayanad landslide has gone up to more than 100 bodies, recovered by 11 am on Tuesday, July 30. Hundreds of people are reported missing.
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The landslide struck the Mundakai and Chooralmala areas, around 20 kilometers from Kalpetta town in Wayanad, at approximately 2 am on July 30. The location is near Puthumala, where around 20 people earlier died in a landslide in 2019.
While rescue workers have reached the Chooralmala region, access to the Mundakai area remains blocked due to destroyed roads and bridges.
According to reports, around 200 people, primarily plantation workers, are believed to be stranded. Numerous resorts in the region mean many tourists are also feared trapped.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, and the Air Force are being deployed to the area. Ten bodies have been reportedly recovered from the river in Pothukallu, Malappuram, over 50 kilometers from the landslide site, and more people are feared to have been swept away in the Chaliyar river.
Approximately 50 people have been admitted to a private medical college in Wayanad. Many survivors with minor injuries are desperately searching for their loved ones among the debris.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, offering full support for the rescue and relief efforts.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former MP of Wayanad, along with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, expressed shock over the tragedy. Chief Minister Vijayan visited the State Disaster Management Authority control room in Thiruvananthapuram to review the situation, assuring that all possible measures are being taken to rescue those trapped.
