'No idea how many buried alive': Wayanad landslip eyewitnesses recount horrific scenes

Wayanad: It began with a deafening roar that echoed through the rain-soaked valley. Within moments, the mountainside started to move.

From his home on a nearby hill, plantation worker Mani watched in disbelief as the slope above the Meppadi-Anakkampoil twin tunnel project site collapsed like a giant wave of earth. Workers scattered in panic, excavators disappeared beneath tonnes of mud, and the hillside swallowed everything in its path before an eerie silence descended over the valley.

"It sounded like an explosion," Mani recalled. "I was in my house when I saw the entire portion of the hill near the tunnel mouth start sliding. People below suddenly began running in every direction. Within seconds, a massive section of the hill crashed down, swallowing heavy machinery, vehicles and everything in its path."

The landslip occurred at around 11 am on Tuesday at the construction site of the twin tunnel project. Hours later, rescue teams were still racing against time as the exact number of workers trapped beneath the mountain of mud and debris remained unknown.

"The upper portion above the tunnel entrance simply disappeared," Mani said, still struggling to process what he had witnessed. "Even the cement-plastered section around the tunnel mouth caved in. Nobody had time to escape. The mud kept coming like a river. It swept across the road, crushed machinery, destroyed a house and a mosque near the bridge, and only stopped after covering everything."

As rescue teams raced against time, local residents feared that dozens of workers could still be buried under the massive mound of earth. Excavators and construction equipment that moments earlier had been operating at the site were nowhere to be seen, completely engulfed by the landslide.

Residents believe an even greater catastrophe was narrowly averted as a KSRTC bus had crossed the road just minutes before the landslip.

Locals also blamed the huge quantities of excavated soil piled up along the roadside near the construction site. According to them, the intense rain that lashed the area from Tuesday morning saturated the loose earth. Large volumes of water accumulated in the soil mound burst forth with enormous force.

"Heavy rain started only this morning after several weeks without heavy showers," Mani said. "We noticed the water level in the Meenakshi River rising unusually fast. It immediately reminded us of what happened before the Chooralmala-Mundakkai disaster in 2024. The river rose suddenly, warning us that something was wrong."

He said the landslip briefly blocked the river's flow before the accumulated water and mud gushed through.

"For a few minutes, the river was dammed by the fallen earth. Then the water broke through with tremendous force, carrying mud downstream. That caused further damage to vehicles and buildings near the bridge."

Among the first to reach the disaster site was Yasir, a jeep driver from Chooralmala. What he witnessed, he said, was something he would never forget. "The scene was terrifying," he said. "People were screaming for help. Many were struggling to pull themselves out of the thick mud. We saw at least three people being rescued, but many others were still trapped. Several vehicles, including a bus and numerous construction machines, had completely disappeared beneath the soil."

With heavy rain continuing to lash the region, Yasir feared the rescue operation would become increasingly difficult. "The mud is still unstable. Every minute is critical. We don't know how many people remain underneath."

Sunil G, a local tourism entrepreneur who lives nearby, said many workers had been staying in container accommodation installed inside the construction site. "When the hill collapsed, we saw several container houses being swept away with the mud towards the river," he said. "We have no idea whether people were still inside them. Everything happened within seconds. Many workers simply had no chance to run."

With the landslip cutting off the road between Chooralmala and Meppadi, rescuers faced enormous challenges in reaching the site. Residents said some of the injured were shifted through alternative routes to the HML Plantation Hospital in Chooralmala while rescue teams struggled to clear access roads.

Sunil said the collapse appeared to have originated from the left side of the tunnel portal, where extensive excavation had been carried out on the hillside. He also pointed out that large areas had been cleared for crusher and concrete mixing units, further altering the terrain around the project.

Officials who inspected the site also pointed to the massive stockpiles of excavated earth as a factor that may have worsened the disaster.

Public Works Department and Revenue officials said the accumulated mined soil had significantly increased the scale of the collapse. Agriculture Minister T Siddique said authorities had earlier raised concerns over storing such large quantities of excavated earth close to the work site.

As rain continued to fall over the scarred mountainside, excavators continued digging through tonnes of mud while rescue workers searching for signs of life beneath the collapsed hill.