Four days since a landslide battered Kerala's Wayanad district, over 206 people are still missing. The rescue officials have recovered over 215 bodies so far, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"Till now, 215 bodies have been recovered, of which 87 are women, 98 are men, and 30 are children. As many as 148 bodies have been handed over so far. There are 206 people missing. Eighty-one people are injured and are under treatment in various hospitals," he said.
Though several body parts were recovered over the last few days from both the accident site and the Chaliyar river there is difficulty in identifying the dead bodies and parts. Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters that the body parts will be buried separately. "The government has identified 9 acres of land in different areas to bury the body parts. The DNA number will be displayed at each burial site," the minister added.
As per district authorities, 133 body parts were recovered from the landslide-hit spots and the Chaliyar river. The officials have collected genetic samples of the body parts to identify the deceased.
Meanwhile, the rescue operations continued on Friday too despite challenges, which included waterlogged terrain and huge boulders and logs brought by landslides and deposited in the residential areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
The Army is still using deep search radars in the affected areas in a bid to locate people still believed to be trapped beneath the debris. The Kerala government has also requested the deployment of advanced radar equipment, including one Xaver radar and four Reeco radars, which will be airlifted from Delhi in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, along with their operators.
#WATCH | Kerala: Search and rescue operation in Landslide affected areas in Wayanad, continues on the 5th day. pic.twitter.com/3XEEmOSJCr
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2024
#WATCH | Wayanad landslide | Presently, 78 Naval personnel are involved in the ongoing rescue operations. The teams have been deployed to multiple locations in Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas and are working hand in hand with the disaster relief agencies and local administration.… pic.twitter.com/ZN8kxjrSua
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2024
60 children dead?
Though the official figures peg the number of children who died in the landslide at 30, many claim it could be around 60. According to reports quoting unofficial sources, over 60 children may have perished in the disaster. Officials of Vellarmala G V Higher Secondary School say 32 students of the school alone died. Over 12 from the school are still missing.
It is also unclear as to how many tots who were enrolled in Anganwadis died. To get the figures at this stage is impossible as the Anganwadis itself has disappeared from the face of the earth in the landslide. Many children from migrant families also could have died in the disaster.
