NEW DELHI, Aug 7, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – Rescuers in India’s southern state of Kerala Friday retrieved 15 bodies and rescued 12 people from the debris of a landslide, officials said.
The landslide triggered by heavy rains Friday morning hit Rajmala area of Idukki district, about 287 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala.
“As of now, we have retrieved 15 bodies. Apart from this 12 people were rescued and subsequently hospitalized,” a senior official at Revenue Divisional Office Idukki said. “The rescue work to trace the missing ones in the area is underway.”
According to the officials, 78 people, mostly tea estate workers, were in the area when the landslide was triggered due to heavy rains.
Officials feared the death toll was likely to go up.
The area has been cut off as water has washed away the bridge connecting it to the outside world.
Authorities have rushed teams of disaster response force personnel to carry out rescue efforts.
“A 50-member team trained by the Fire and Rescue Unit has been deployed for further rescue operations in Idukki Rajamalai. The team rushed to the scene,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
“A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been deployed to rescue the landslide victims in Rajamalai, Idukki. Police, Fire Force, Forest and Revenue officials have been instructed to join the rescue efforts. Another team of NDRF, based in Thrissur, will soon reach Idukki.”
The low-lying areas of the district like Munnar, a popular tourist destination, has been flooded because of rising water levels of the Muthirapuzha River.
The area has been witnessing heavy rains for the past three days.
Meanwhile, rains in other parts especially Wayanad have inundated several areas in the state. The meteorological department officials have sounded a red and orange alert for the hilly districts of Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.
TV images showed a temple in Aluva submerged in water as the water level rose in Periyar River following incessant rains.