Wayanad landslides: 215 people dead, says Wayanad district administration

Wayanad (Kerala): Four days after massive landslides hit this north Kerala district, 215 bodies have been recovered from the affected areas, the district administration said on Saturday.

The 215 dead include 87 women and 30 children, the administration said in a statement.

It further said that 143 body parts have also been recovered till date.

Of the 215 bodies, 148 have been identified by relatives, it added.

The administration also said that autopsies of 212 bodies and 140 body parts have been performed and 119 remains were handed over to next of kin.

Besides these, 504 people were admitted to hospitals and of them 82 are undergoing treatment, the statement said.

According to the district administration, around 218 people are missing.

However, Kerala ADGP M R Ajith Kumar had on Friday said that approximately 300 people are still missing.

Search operations started early Saturday with more than 1,300 rescuers, heavy machinery and sophisticated equipment being deployed to look for survivors from the ravages of the landslides.

However, huge boulders and logs brought by landslides and deposited in the residential areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala are posing a significant challenge to rescue efforts to locate people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.