Eleven days after a massive landslide hit Idukki’s Pettimudi, burying rows of layams (line houses) that plantation workers inhabited, three more bodies, including that of a child, were found on Tuesday. This brings the death toll from the disaster up to 61.
Two of the victims have been identified as 6-year-old Ashwanth Raj and 57-year-old Anantha Selvam. Nine people are still reported missing in the landslides.
In the wee hours of August 7, a huge chunk of land slipped down from the hilltop, burying the homes of almost 82 plantation workers, who lived in the area with their families. Those who escaped, nearly with rescue workers, are continuing to search for missing loved ones almost two weeks later, amidst the slush, mud and huge boulders that have been left behind.
The three bodies recovered on Tuesday were found on the gravel bunk portion, near the river along the landslide-hit spot.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), which the Idukki district administration had brought from Chennai, was also used in Tuesday’s rescue operations. A four-member team had reached Chennai to conduct the search using the special radar, which can receive signals from six metres deep.
A dog squad also aided the rescue efforts, but on Tuesday, the squad had to be sent away due to adverse weather conditions, according to a statement released by the District Information Office.
Officials have said that rescue works will continue until the last missing person is found. Twelve people have escaped the deadly landslide.
The rescue workers, including teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire and Rescue officials and the local people, have also started to search the areas where houses were buried. The mud from the location is being moved away and a close search is once again being conducted in hopes of finding missing persons.
Watch the ongoing rescue works in Pettimudi: