CHOORALMALA, India – Indian soldiers raced to complete a metal bridge on Thursday to connect the worst-hit area in the Kerala landslides, as the search for survivors and bodies entered its third day. The disaster has claimed at least 178 lives.
Heavy rains in Kerala, one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, triggered landslides in the Wayanad district early on Tuesday. Torrents of mud, water, and boulders swept downhill, burying or sweeping away sleeping villagers.
Army engineers are constructing a 190-foot (58-metre) bridge to transport heavy equipment from Chooralmala to Mundakkai. Rising water levels in a local river had washed away a makeshift bridge on Wednesday, hampering rescue efforts. The main bridge was destroyed in the landslides, leaving Mundakkai isolated.
“Our bridge is nearing completion… and once the bridge comes up, it will be a major change,” said V.T. Mathew, a senior army official overseeing the rescue operations, to ANI news agency. “We will be able to induct all equipment into the site and once the equipment goes into the site, then we will be able to dig for people.”
Rescue work has been hindered by steady rain and rising water levels. India’s weather office predicts more heavy rain over the next 24 hours. This disaster is the worst in Kerala since the deadly floods of 2018. Experts noted that heavy rainfall over the last two weeks had softened the soil, and the extremely heavy rainfall on Monday triggered the landslides.
Authorities reported 178 confirmed deaths, with 190 people still missing. Local Asianet news TV channel placed the death toll at 267. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates over the last two days, authorities added. The death toll is expected to rise further once the metal bridge is completed, allowing a quicker search.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who won a seat in Wayanad in the recent general election but resigned as he was also elected in his family bastion in the north, is scheduled to visit the affected areas on Thursday.