The Army will deploy its expertly-trained dogs at the landslides sites in Kerala’s Wayanad to sniff out the signs of life from under the debris.
The defence ministry said an elite canine unit from the Meerut Remount Veterinary Corps Centre (RVC) is on their way to Wayanad following a special request from the Kerala government.
The canine squad comprises breeds such as Belgian Malinois, Labradors, and German Shepherds which can smell human remains and even the faintest of breath buried deep under mud.
"These dogs are experts in rescuing people from disaster-struck areas and the canine team will be arriving soon at Wayanad," a defence ministry PRO was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
According to officials, these dogs have been trained for several years at the Meerut RVC for operations in disaster areas.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had requested the Army to send its canine unit to Wayanad after scores of people went missing in the multiple landslides that hit the hilly district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Addressing the media later in the evening, Vijayan said 93 bodies have been recovered so far and the rescue operations are underway in full swing.
The chief minister said the first landslide occurred around 2 am and the second one hit the area around 4.30 am. Both the landslides occurred when most of the villagers were sleeping, catching them off-guard and resulting in the high number of casualties.