Kerala landslide death toll rise to 49

On Friday, a landslide that occurred at Pettimudi in Idukki district of Kerala washed away an entire region. The death toll has risen to 49 after 17 more bodies were recovered on Sunday and six on Monday including that of a six-month-old baby. At least 22 people are still under the soil. The bodies were recovered with the help of police sniffer dogs. NDRF teams, Idukki fire and rescue team and experts from state capital Trivandrum and Kottayam are leading the rescue operations. The death toll is likely to rise.

The tragic incident happened at around 2 am on Friday. A bridge that connected the region was also washed away due to which rescue operations began almost five hours after the incident. Most of the victims are migrant workers from Tamil Nadu who are working at the tea plantations in the region.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for families of the deceased.

Due the incessant rains over past few days, Kerala has been battling floods and landslides. Most parts of the state, mainly central and northern Kerala was flooded over the weekend though waters are receding now. This is the third consecutive year where Kerala has been witnessing heavy floods during monsoon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah were amongst those who condoled the incident.

Watch in Sign Language