One more body retrieved from Kalladi landslip site; death toll rises to seven

Wayanad: Rescue teams recovered one more body from the debris near Meenakshi Bridge on Friday during the fourth day of search operations following the landslip at the Kozhikode–Wayanad twin-tunnel project at Kalladi near Meppadi. With the latest recovery, the death toll in the disaster has risen to seven.

The body, identified as that of Rakesh Guchait, a surveyor from West Bengal, was recovered from the area near the river at the landslip site during the morning search operation. Relatives of the missing workers had reached the site for identification. Officials said the process was carried out after the body, which was found in a severely damaged condition, was cleaned and prepared. The post-mortem examination will be conducted at Vythiri Taluk Hospital. 

According to the Wayanad district administration, two workers employed by Dilip Buildcon Ltd. had remained missing before Friday's recovery. The multi-agency rescue operation is continuing to trace the remaining missing worker, Vikram Rana, the construction site manager from Himachal Pradesh.

The landslide occurred on July 7 at the construction site of the Anakkampoyil–Kalladi twin-tunnel road project, burying workers and machinery under a massive volume of mud and debris. Three workers were killed in the initial collapse, while five others went missing and nine were injured. Three bodies were recovered during Thursday's search operation.

Favourable weather conditions on Friday helped the rescue efforts, with no rainfall disrupting excavation work. Officials said dry conditions allowed teams to continue the search more effectively, but warned that fresh rain could make the debris unstable and hamper the operation.

Revenue Minister A P Anil Kumar, who is coordinating the rescue work, said a 30-member joint team comprising personnel from the NDRF, Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, police and volunteers of the Kalpetta-based Thurkey Jeevan Raksha Samithi was engaged in the operation.

The Minister said the volunteer group's experience in recovery operations after the Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide had helped in the present search, especially in locating victims trapped beneath layers of mud and debris.

He added that the focus of the operation was now on clearing the massive volume of debris using heavy machinery. Increasing manpower would be of limited use at this stage compared with deploying advanced equipment to reach the remaining missing worker.

"A huge volume of mud and debris has to be removed before the remaining victim can be reached. At this stage, advanced machinery is more crucial than increasing the number of personnel," he said.