Idukki landslip toll rises to 49

Four bodies recovered on Monday were of children

IDUKKI With the recovery of six more bodies on Monday, the death toll in the Pettimudy landslip has risen to 49. Revenue Department officials said the bodies were recovered from the Kanniyar river near the estate lanes that were buried under the landslip debris on Thursday night.

The unfavourable weather, with rain and mist, continues to hamper the search operation. Four bodies recovered on Monday were of children under the age of 14. As per official estimates, 21 people are still missing.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) numbering around 100 started the search along the banks of the Kanniyar river, a tributary of the Muthirapuzha, from Monday morning. The Forest Department also deployed a 10-member team for the search operation. A 10-km distance along the river was searched before the bodies were found, said the officials monitoring the search operation at Pettimudy.

Devikulam Subcollector S. Premkrishnan said a post-mortem examination was conducted at the makeshift mortuary ahead of burying them in the mass grave at Pettimudy.

The search operation is likely to be held on Tuesday for the missing. District Collector H. Dinesan said bad weather was the main hurdle at Pettimudy. The authorities have decided continue the search till all the missing from the accident site are found. The boulders that came down with the landslip debris had been broken and the area was cleared on Sunday, he added.

Members of non-governmental organisations and local people too were helping with the search operations. Since the communication facilities were poor, ham radio too was being used to collect details at Pettimudy.

The district health authorities have decided to conduct antigen tests to all the members of the search team as part of the COVID-19 norms.

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