Search Continues For Five Missing Persons In Wayanad Landslide; Three Dead, Several Injured

Wayanad: Search operations resumed today morning for the five individuals missing in the tragic landslide at Kalladi. The post-mortem procedures for the three deceased victims are complete, and Chief Minister V D Satheesan is scheduled to visit the disaster site later in the day.

The five missing individuals are employees of a contracting company. An intensive search, spearheaded by the Revenue Department and other authorities, is currently underway following extensive preparations completed last night. Earthmovers have completely cleared the soil and debris that had piled up on the bridge and the road.

Rescue operations are progressing rapidly with the deployment of additional vehicles and heavy machinery. For a more scientific approach, the disaster site has been divided into four distinct zones, with special officers assigned to oversee each area. Specially trained cadaver dogs are also being used to locate bodies trapped under the debris.

The bodies of the three deceased tunnel construction workers were shifted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital last night. Authorities have made arrangements to embalm the bodies and airlift them to their respective hometowns. The deceased have been identified as Chandrabhan Pal (37) from Madhya Pradesh, Bikash Kumar Singh (40) from Bihar, and Anmon Dodare (25) from Jharkhand.

The missing workers have been identified as M D Imran, Bikram Singh Rana, Rahul Sharma, Rakesh, and Ansari. Two of the injured individuals admitted to the WIMS Hospital remain in critical condition. Several others, including Rajneesh (27), Dileep (19), Suraj Yadav (25), Sanjay Thakur (35), Hira Kumar (32), Tanmayi Joshi (28), Koodammal Jaya (37), Kanju (39), and Santhosh S A (55), are undergoing treatment at various medical facilities. The native places of these injured individuals are yet to be officially confirmed.

Those who sustained minor injuries were shifted to relief camps after receiving primary medical care. The Health Department has arranged special measures to ensure optimal medical care for all the injured victims. Considering the massive scale of the disaster, additional medical teams have been deployed to the region.

Strict restrictions have been imposed on public entry to the accident site to facilitate smooth rescue operations, with vehicles halted one and a half kilometers away. The Revenue and Agriculture ministers are camping at the location to coordinate the ongoing efforts. A joint task force comprising the NDRF, Fire Force, Police, and volunteers is leading the search mission. Authorities have decided to expand the search operations by bringing in more teams as daylight improves, ensuring that all necessary safety precautions are in place for the rescue personnel.

Intermittent showers continue to pose a significant challenge to the rescue operations, with heavy rainfall reported last night. However, the clear weather this morning has created a favourable environment for the search teams. Anticipating further risks, a relief camp has been opened at the nearby Polytechnic College, which currently accommodates 75 people. Workers residing in the quarters of the Meenakshi Estate have also been relocated to this camp for safety reasons. The district administration has made extensive arrangements to evacuate more people if necessary and has identified suitable locations to open additional relief camps in other areas.

Konkan Railway Response

Konkan Railway Assistant Engineer Gulzar Ahmed to ETV Bharat, "This is actually the area where this landslide happened. It is almost 250 meters away from the excavated area. We had not excavated that area."

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3. Three Migrant Workers Killed As Landslide Hits Wayanad Tunnel Project Site In Kerala
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