Wayanad landslide: Three more body parts recovered; 130 people still missing

Wayanad (Kerala) [India], August 11 (ANI): Three more body parts were recovered by rescuers in landslide-hit areas of Wayanad on Sunday, said Kerala Minister PA Mohamed Riyas.

According to the minister, 130 people are still missing in the aftermath of the devastating calamity that hit the hill district on July 30.

“178 bodies have been identified. 51 bodies have been unidentified and 130 people are missing. The search team is trying their best to get the body or body parts. Today, we recovered three body parts. After the postmortem, we can confirm if they belong to a human or an animal,” Riyas told ANI.

“We got a bone from Attamala. In the camp, we are conducting a survey with 18 teams. If there is a single person without a family, a government servant will be a local guardian,” he added.

Besides the police and fire force personnel, volunteers from various service and youth outfits, survivors of the landslides and kin of the victims participated in the search operation to find those who are still missing.

According to the minister, about two thousand people participated in the search conducted today. A detailed search of the Chaliyar River will be conducted tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, he said.

Meanwhile, a Kerala cabinet subcommittee said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the Wayanad landslide tragedy a national disaster and allot special packages.

PM Modi visited Wayanad on Saturday and conducted an aerial and on-the-ground survey of affected sites. He also chaired a review meeting

The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Union Minister Suresh Gopi, State Ministers A Rajan, AK Saseendran, PA Mohammed Riyas, and Kerala ADGP (law and order) MR Ajith Kumar.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister assured all support to the state and survivors in rehabilitation. He also emphasised that the central government will make all efforts to fulfil all state government requests.

The July 30 landslide is the deadliest one in the state, killing more than 300 people and destroying scores of houses and other buildings.