Wayanad (Kerala) | A day after a landslide at the tunnel road construction site in this hill district claimed three lives, extensive search operations are ongoing to find five people who are still missing following the incident, police said on Wednesday.
Wayanad SP Devamanohar told reporters that a case of unnatural death has been registered in connection with the landslide and an investigation has been launched.
Giving details of the rescue efforts, he said that cadaver dogs, fire force personnel and NDRF teams have been deployed and the area has been divided into four zones to carry out the search.
He said that areas downstream of the river are also being searched and the road towards Chooralmala has been cleared.
But, there is a lot more mud to be cleared from the incident site, and it can be done only after the search operations are completed, the officer said.
The state government, a day ago, had contended that it was a "man-made disaster" as the mud accumulated at the construction site had not been removed despite directions from the district administration and Public Works Department Minister P K Basheer.
The general manager of the construction company refuted it and claimed that the landslide occurred much above the work site.
He said that it did not happen on the land given to the company for the construction and the mud accumulated there was not the reason for the disaster.
When reporters asked Wayanad District Collector Meghashree D R about the company GM's contention that they were not at fault, she declined to comment about it.
Meanwhile, an official involved in the rescue operations said that while the landslide occurred above the construction site, the mud accumulated in the area led to the mudslide's intensity increasing.
He also said that the ongoing rains are posing a hurdle in the search and rescue operations.
The three people who have been confirmed to have died in the incident are migrant workers -- Chandraban, an operator from Madhya Pradesh; Bikash Kumar, a civil foreman from Bihar; and Anmol, a worker from Jharkhand.
Seven persons injured in the incident were undergoing treatment at the Meppadi WIMS Hospital as of Tuesday night.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan would be visiting the area on Wednesday, according to government sources.