Wayanad (Kerala) | The number of people who lost their lives in the devastating series of landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district has crossed 250, with authorities on Wednesday expressing concern over the fate of more than 150 people who are still missing.
"Rescue operations in Wayanad are continuing in full swing. Our land has never experienced such painful sights before," Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The Wayanad district administration confirmed the deaths of 158 people in the calamity.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, the chief minister said that so far, 144 bodies have been recovered. Among them, 79 are men and 64 are women.
"191 people are still missing," according to the latest count.
Earlier in the day, a Cabinet meeting chaired by CM Vijayan expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the disaster.
Vijayan said the scenes in Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas of the district are devastating. "Both these areas have been completely destroyed," he said.
He added that efforts to rescue as many people as possible from the disaster zone are progressing well.
"In the two-day rescue operation, 1,592 people were rescued. This is the achievement of a coordinated and extensive mission to save so many people in a short span of time," Vijayan said.
He said that in the first phase, 206 people from 68 families in the nearby areas of the disaster were shifted to three camps.
"This includes 75 men, 88 women, and 43 children," the chief minister said.
Following the landslide, 1,386 people who were stranded and those who were trapped in their homes were rescued as a result of the ongoing rescue mission.
"This includes 528 men, 559 women, and 299 children who were shifted to seven camps. Two hundred and one people were rescued and taken to the hospital, of which 90 are currently undergoing treatment," he said.
Vijayan said that in Wayanad district, there are currently 8,017 people in 82 relief camps. This includes 19 pregnant women.
"There are eight camps in Meppadi, where 1,486 people from 421 families are currently staying," he said.
Meanwhile, rescue teams comprising the Army, Navy and NDRF are collectively looking for survivors by unearthing the debris and breaking into the remains of houses destroyed or covered up with mud in the landslides.
According to a Defence statement, army units deployed in the area rescued around 1,000 people from the affected areas till Tuesday night.
Additionally, the Air Force is carrying out aerial reconnaissance of the affected areas to coordinate search and rescue operations.
The landslides occurred around 2 am and 4.10 am on Tuesday catching
people off-guard while they were sleeping, leading to a high number of casualties.
Harrowing scenes of dead bodies in sitting and lying positions inside destroyed houses could be seen as rescue operations resumed in the landslide-devastated Mundakkai hamlet on Wednesday morning.
The rescuers could reach many inland areas, which were totally cut off on Wednesday morning only.
Tiny makeshift bridges were erected over swollen rivers and excavators were engaged non-stop in removing piles of debris and boulders, with rescue missions continuing in the landslide-hit hamlet.
Rescue operators, including Army personnel, NDRF, state emergency service personnel, and local people, were fighting all odds to carry out the tough mission even as rain continued to lash several areas.
In Mundakkai, one of the badly affected villages, tiny bridges were erected using ropes and ladders to connect with the cut-off land and bring the people trapped there to safety.
There were tense moments when people, including women and children, were being brought to safer places through the narrow, makeshift bridges across gushing rivers.
In some places, rescuers formed human bridges using ropes to ensure the safe evacuation of people.
In riskier terrain, people were lifted by making them sit on wooden platforms across a river that was in spate.
Union Minister George Kurian has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the landslide situation.
Kurian visited the people affected by the landslide in Wayanad.
"The situation is being monitored by the Central government at the highest level. The Honourable Prime Minister is monitoring the situation and has deputed me to visit the affected areas.
"Both control rooms of the Ministry of Home Affairs are monitoring the situation 24x7 and providing all possible assistance to the state," he said.
The Chief Minister's Office said that the Army will construct a Bailey bridge for rescue operations in Wayanad's Chooralmala.
Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains struck Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday, killing several people, including women and children.
New Delhi | The CPI(M) Politburo on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the victims of the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad and called for donations to help in the relief work.
"The devastating landslide disaster in Wayanad has claimed almost 200 lives, injured hundreds and led to a huge loss in property. The LDF (Left Democratic Front) government in Kerala is striving its utmost to rush relief and help in the rehabilitation of families. The CPI(M) and mass organisations in Kerala are also involved in relief work," it said in a statement.
"It is essential to express solidarity with the affected families in Kerala in their hour of distress and to extend our support in the relief efforts," it added.
The CPI(M) said a special fund -- the Wayanad Relief Fund -- was being set up at the CPI(M) Central Committee Office in Delhi and appealed for donations.
The fund's bank details will be publicly announced shortly.
As many as 167 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the massive landslides that hit the northern Kerala district of Wayanad on Tuesday, with the numbers expected to increase as rescuers unearth debris, the district administration said.