Death toll mounts to 174 in Wayanad landslides, 225 people still missing

Wayanad: The death toll in landslide isn Kerala’s Wayanad district rose to 174 on Wednesday, with 225 people still missing, officials said.

A total of 191 people are still undergoing medical treatment at various hospitals, according to the Revenue Department sources.

The massive landslides hit Mundakkai and Choormala in Vellarimala village in Meppadi panchayat in Kerala's Wayand district on Tuesday..

A total of 89 bodies have been identified so far and postmortem of 143 bodies completed, health department sources said.

As many as 72 bodies were recovered from Chaliyar river including 13 on Wednesday, between Pothukkal to Munderi areas in Malappuram district, which was around 38 Km away from the accident spot at Mundakkai, while 14 bodies recovered from the debris of the houses at Mundakkai.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attended an all-party meeting while 8 relief camps have been set up at Mundakkal to accommodate around 1,000 victims from 500 odd houses.

Only 30 houses were remaining at Mundakkai, said a local resident.

Around 600 rescue personnel from Army, Navy, Coast Guard, NDRF, Kerala Police special force,dog squad, local volunteers have been conducting search and rescue operations at Mundakkal, Chooralmala areas, they have rescued around 250 stranded people.

The Army personnel have started the construction of bailey bridge connecting Chooramala to Mundakkai, after the bridge was washed away in the landslide on July 30.

Revenue Minister K Rajan and five member ministers are still camping at Mundakkai areas to assist in rescue and search operations.

In another incident, Health Minister Veena George met an accident, while enroute to Wayanad at Areekode road in Malappuram district around 7 am, after her car collided with a motor bike, scooter and an electric pole.

The passengers of the scooter and motor bike, Ibrahim and Padmaja, were also admitted to hospital with minor injuries.