Kerala landslides: Death toll increases to 218

Wayanad (Kerala), Aug 3 (PTI) The death toll in the Wayanad landslides increased to 218, the district administration said on Saturday.

The 218 dead include 90 women and 30 children, the administration said in a statement.

Of the 218 bodies recovered from the landslides-hit areas, 152 have been identified by relatives, it said.

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

The administration also said that autopsies of 217 bodies and 143 body parts have been performed and 119 remains were handed over to next of kin.

Besides these, 518 people were admitted to hospitals and of them 89 are undergoing treatment, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the search and rescue operations which began on July 30 have reached the final stages.

He also said that 206 people are still missing.

Search operations started early on 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.