Majority tragedy in #Kerala as Munnar labour camp hit with a landslide: 5 said to have died, 10 rescued so far, scores are feared trapped.
Forest min K Raju says the fatalities could increase. About 20 families, nearly 80 people, are feared to be trapped.
First visuals show rescue workers walking through blackened thatched roofs that have touched the ground in the soil collapse. #KeralaRains
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The landslide followed a night of heavy rain— flooding residential areas, pausing vehicular traffic, and threatening to disrupt Kerala's covid-19 response in nearly every hilly dist. Rescue ops are hit with access difficulties and climate adversities, says Raju.
#KeralaRains
Although it has not suffered such a shock before, the landslide region, #Rajamala area in Idukki, was witnessing torrential downpour of more than 30 cm for the last two days. A temp bridge that connected it to the outside world also collapsed in the rains. #KeralaRains
Pettimudi estate in Rajamala, where the landslide has hit, is on the tail end on the way to Eravikulam National Park. It is one of the hardest areas to access in #Kerala, with narrow, unpaved roads deep inside the forest. Also, one of the least developed in terms of healthcare.
*Major
The tea estate labourers, who populate the place, and tribals from Edamalakudy, Kerala's only tribal panchayat deep inside the forest, are at the forefront of rescue ops now. An NDRF team is rushing to the place. 2 medical teams are already in nearby towns, two are on their way.
Local reports say the landslide is likely to have occurred as early as 4 am, but the scale of the damage was only revealed later in the morning when some of the rescued people reported it to the nearest forest officials, walking kilometers away.
Kerala had witnessed a major tragedy in the previous monsoon rains too. In 2018, it witnessed the worst flooding ever, killing 483 people. In 2019, a landslide in Malappuram district resulted in the death of 49 people.
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Another team of NDRF, based in Thrissur, will soon reach Idukki, says CM Vijayan.
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