Wayanad landslides: Kerala Cabinet resolves to rush more personnel and equipment to Wayanad

Kerala intensifies search and rescue mission in landslide-hit Wayanad, deploying more personnel and equipment, expediting post-mortem examinations.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan early on July 31 decided to intensify the ongoing search and rescue mission in the landslide-ravaged Wayanad district by deploying more personnel and equipment.

The Cabinet also resolved to expedite the post-mortem examination process to hasten the release of the bodies of the landslide victims to their families. The Health department has rushed more forensic teams to Wayanad.

Mr. Vijayan will leave for disaster-ravaged Wayanad later in the day and chair an all-party meeting in the district on August 1.

The conference will likely decide on compensation for victims and survivors and discuss a rehabilitation package for Wayanad. It will also review ongoing search and rescue missions.

 The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said two Indian Army Human Assistance and Disaster Relief columns were airborne from Thiruvananthapuram and would reach Kozhikode soon. The Army is airlifting a portable Bailey’s bridge from New Delhi to Kannur airport. 

Tuesday’s landslide wiped out the Chooralmala bridge spanning the Iruvanipuzha, cutting off search and rescue teams from the disaster site. Authorities hope the Bailey’s bridge will restore land connectivity to the calamity zone and offer a sturdy ingress to search and rescue workers.

Meanwhile, a government official said the search for survivors at Mundakkai, one of the three landslide-hit localities in Wayanad, appeared to be entering a delicate new phase.