"Climate is favourable": Keralam Minister says rescue teams focusing on high-probability zones in Wayanad
Wayanad, July 9
Search and rescue teams in landslide-hit Wayanad retrieved two more bodies from the site on Thursday, bringing the total death toll in the July 7 tragedy to five.
The rescue operations, which are currently focused on high-probability zones, were bolstered by favourable weather conditions. Officials confirmed that out of the five persons reported missing after the landslide, two have been accounted for today.
A Keralam Minister overseeing the operations stated that the teams are currently scouring Zone 1 and Zone 2.
"Our rescue operation is going on. Today, the climate is very favourable. Our rescue operation team has found an unidentified body... Now we are searching in zone 1 and zone 2... We are expecting more bodies around the Zone 1 area. We are also conducting operations in zone 2. These two areas are most the probability area. Earlier, we got three dead bodies from that area also," the Minister informed.
Adding to the updates from the site, Keralam Minister T Siddique stated that the search is being carried out on a war footing. He confirmed the retrieval of a second body from a different zone.
"The search operation is in full swing. We have retrieved the second body from zone 3. The body has been shifted to the hospital for postmortem. Later, it will be shifted to Kozhikode for embalming. After which, it will be handed over to the family. Out of the five missing persons, two bodies have been recovered till now," Siddique said.
Earlier, remains of Anmol Dodrai, a young man from the Khunti district of Jharkhand who lost his life in the landslide, arrived at Ranchi airport, where they were received by grieving family members before being transported to his native village in the Torpa block.
Anmol had moved to Kerala five months ago in search of work to support his family. His elder sister, Premlata Dodrai, recounted the devastating news, noting that the family had initially been unaware of the extent of the disaster.
The landslide struck at around 11:15 am on Tuesday within a 200-metre radius of the tunnel construction site at Kalladi in Meppadi Grama Panchayat, burying large portions of the worksite under debris estimated to be 7 to 10 feet deep.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Kudos to the rescue teams working tirelessly in Wayanad 🙏 The fact that they've recovered 5 bodies already shows their dedication. But I wish the government had done more geological surveys before allowing construction in landslide-prone zones. This is Kerala's third major landslide this decade.
It's encouraging that the Minister is personally overseeing operations and the weather is cooperating. However, as someone who's from outside India, I find the death toll relatively low for such an event. What's the protocol for evacuation when signs of landslide appear? Shouldn't there be early warning systems in such zones?
The way Anmol's body was brought back to Jharkhand shows the emotional toll on families. But isn't it ironic that a young man from a poor state went to wealthy Kerala for work and ended up dying in a landslide? We need better disaster management nationwide, not just in tourist areas.
Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3... The systematic approach is good, but I wish there was more transparency about how these zones were determined. Also, the Minister mentioning "high-probability zones" sounds clinical. For families waiting for news of loved ones, every hour is agony. 🙏
Respect to the rescue teams and Minister Siddique for the war-footing approach. That said, I'm surprised there's no mention of using drones or thermal imaging to detect survivors if any. With climate variability increasing, Kerala should invest in smart mapping of all vulnerable zones.
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