Kalpetta: The death toll from a mudslide near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi in Wayanad rose to five on Thursday after rescue teams recovered two more bodies, officials said, as searches continue for three people still unaccounted for.
State Agriculture Minister T. Siddique, present at the site, said both bodies were taken to the hospital. The slide struck an area near the Wayanad end of a tunnel road construction project.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire and rescue services, police, forest department and local volunteers used excavators and earth-moving equipment to clear tonnes of slush and boulders. Intermittent rain and unstable terrain hampered operations.
Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, who visited the site on Wednesday, directed officials to sustain rescue efforts and provide all possible assistance to affected families. The government has ordered close monitoring of vulnerable locations in the district amid ongoing rainfall.
Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan visited the site on Thursday to assess the situation and meet rescue personnel and residents. Vijayan had travelled to the area two months earlier to inaugurate work on the tunnel road project.
Relatives of the missing persons anxiously awaited updates as teams pressed on with the search. Authorities urged residents in landslide-prone areas to heed evacuation advisories and remain vigilant while heavy rain continues across parts of the district.
(Inputs from IANS)