Wayanad Landslides: At least 308 dead amid monsoon fury in Kerala, 300 still missing

Massive landslides in Kerala's Wayanad have claimed at least 308 lives, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday, even as rescue operations continued in several areas.

While the catastrophe left about 200 injured, another 240 people were missing as of Thursday, ET has reported. Minister George said that 195 bodies and 113 body parts have been recovered so far. Kerala ADGP M R Ajith Kumar said approximately 300 people were still missing in the devastating landslides.

Talking to the media while coordinating the search and rescue missions, Kumar said around 300 people were still missing but the final number can be ascertained only after the Revenue Department collects the details.


"Based on the information we have received till now, approximately around 300 people are still missing. However, the Revenue Department is still collating the details. Within one or two days we will be able to get a final picture," he said.

In landslide-hit areas, rescue operators are facing difficulties with waterlogged soil as they search through the wreckage of homes and buildings for survivors or bodies. Today is the fourth day of the disaster, with 40 teams of rescuers setting out on search operations, braving rains and adverse terrain in Wayanad.


In the disaster-stricken Mundakkai, rescue workers stated that heavy machinery is needed to remove the large trees uprooted by the landslides, which also buried several houses. Meanwhile, the Indian Army handed over the 190-feet Bailey Bridge - built over the Iruvanjippuzha river - connecting the regions Chooralmala and Mundakkai, isolated by the landslides, to local administration.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) of Kerala on August 1 had issued an orange alert in the Wayanad district until Saturday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a high-level meeting in Wayanad to take stock of the situation, and has said that rescue will be the main priority and that rehabilitation will be done at the earliest. Former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi visited the affected sites on Thursday. They also met the people in shelter camps in Wayanad. The Congress leaders continue to stay in Wayanad on Friday.