Kerala landslide: Death toll rises to 143, rescue operation underway

The death toll in the Kerala landslide tragedy climbed to 143 on Wednesday with several injured and trapped according to the State Health Department reported news agency ANIRelief and rescue operations are underway in Wayanads Chooralmala after a landslide broke out yesterdayThe massive Kerala landslide wreaked havoc in the region as houses and roads were damaged trees uprooted and water bodies swelled hindering rescue operations reported ANIMeanwhile on Tuesday the national flag is at halfmast at the Kerala Legislative Assembly as a twoday mourning period is observed in the state following the Kerala landslide that claimed 143 lives reported ANIOn Tuesday Union Minister George Kurian reached Wayanad to take stock of ongoing relief operations where he interacted with senior officials of the NDRF CRPF and Army officials He also visited a relief camp at Kalpetta at 11 pmReached Wayanad hit by a massive landslide and took stock of relief ops Interacted with senior officials of NDRF CRPF and Army officials Visited a relief camp at Kalpetta at 11 pm Kurian wrote in a post on XNDRF Commander Akhilesh Kumar has said We rescued injured victims from Mundakkai village yesterday We fear victims might be trapped in collapsed buildings Till 10 pm last night we rescued 70 people after which we had to stop because of bad weather and rain Since many teams are working we cannot give an exact number of deaths because we only know about the dead bodies our team has recovered People have been given shelter in a resort and a mosque on the other side of the river Since rainfall is going on there are chances of another landslide reported ANIMeanwhile in reports just coming in Kerala health Minister Veena Georges vehicle met with a minor accident near Manjeri in Malappuram district She was travelling to Wayanad No major injuries were reported to either the health minister or her staff The Health Minister is being treated at Manjeri Medical College reported ANIEarlier in response to the landslide in Wayanad Veena George visited the Health Department Directorate to assess the ongoing arrangements She provided a detailed overview of the situation and instructed for precise tracking of available hospital beds in the affected areas as per the Kerala Health Ministers Office reported ANIMinister George also recommended setting up temporary hospitals if necessary and emphasised the need to evaluate the mortuary systems at existing hospitals including the utilization of mobile mortuaries She also reviewed the operations of the control room which will function 247 to assist both health workers and the public Kerala Health Ministers Office reported ANIOn Tuesday morning two massive landslides that washed away the Mundakkai and Chooramala areas of Vellarimala village took place under Meppadi Panchayat in WayanadThe landslides destroyed several houses uprooted trees and made water bodies swell hampering the rescue workMeanwhile as per the India Meteorological Department IMD Heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places in Kerala on July 31 and August 1The weather department has predicted heavy rainfall for August 2 Additionally it said Strong surface winds with speeds reaching 3040 gusting to 50 kmph are likely to prevail occasionally over Kerala on July 30 and 31The first landslide occurred at 2 am on July 30 followed by another at 410 am causing immense damage to homes and livelihoods Many areas including Meppadi Mundakkai and Chooralmala have been isolated and roads have been washed away The Vellarmala GVH School was completely buriedLate on Tuesday Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a highlevel meeting to expedite the rescue operations at the landslideaffected Chooralmala in Wayanad The meeting was held at the Kerala SDMA office and included discussions on enhancing operations through collaboration with various central agencies and forcesWith inputs from ANI