Mundakkai: Four people were rescued from a house in India’s Kerala state on Friday, three days after devastating landslides, as search operations accelerated with the construction of a key bridge that helped transport heavy equipment to the affected area.
Heavy rain in the southern coastal state of Kerala, one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, caused landslides in the hills of Wayanad district early on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept.
The disaster, the worst in Kerala since deadly floods in 2018, has led to the death of 205 people with nearly 200 still missing, authorities said. Local Asianet TV said more than 300 had been killed.
Two men and two women were found alive by the army in a marooned, remote area on Friday, V T Mathew, a top army commander, said.
Rescue efforts were hampered initially after Mundakkai, the worst affected area, was cut off from the nearest town of Chooralmala as the main bridge connecting them was washed away.
Heavy vehicles had begun to ply on the 190-foot (58-metre) bridge constructed by army engineers, and drones with earth-sensing technology to find bodies buried in mud are being brought in, the army said in a statement.
Although there were fewer rescue workers and volunteers at the site on Friday, the effort gathered pace as it became easier to access the worst-affected region.