The death toll in Tuesday’s multiple landslides in India’s southern state of Kerala further rose to 95, with more than 110 people injured, a local police officer told Xinhua over phone.
At least three massive landslides struck the Meppadi area of Kerala’s Wayanad district at around 02:00 a.m. local time when the people were asleep. Those injured were admitted to a local hospital.
Several villages, including Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha, were said to be among the worst-affected areas. Many people were feared to have been washed away in the Chaliyar river.
An online report by India Today claimed that “hundreds were trapped” under the debris, even as an entire area was swept away in the natural tragedy. “At least 106 people have been killed, 128 injured, and hundreds of others are feared trapped,” said the online report.
Rescue work was continuing, as the personnel belonging to the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy were deployed for bringing out those trapped.
According to the Indian Army, they had deployed 225 personnel, including medical teams. Two Indian Air Force helicopters, a Mi-17 and an Advanced Light Helicopter, were put into rescue operations.
