Eighteen people are still missing in the Pettimudi landslide in Kerala’s Munnar which buried 70 sleeping people in their homes in rubble on the night of August 6. Nine of the people missing are adults and nine are children, said Devikulam Sub Collector Prem Krishnan. Three more people were found dead on Tuesday after search and rescue operations continued for the fifth day. With that, the death toll in the landslide has risen to 52.
The three people who were found dead on Tuesday are Chelladurai, aged 55 years; Rekha, 27 years; and 55-year-old Rajayya. All three of them were found from the river flowing near the land where the disaster struck.
This is the third consecutive year that monsoon rains cause havoc in the state, with floods and landslides. However, the rains have been milder this year than in 2018, which had caused one of the worst floods in Kerala in nearly a hundred years. But then there is also the COVID-19 pandemic to deal with, and rescue operations following precautions have not been easy.
The worst-hit in this year’s monsoon has been Idukki with the landslide causing so many casualties in a single night.
Landslide-hit Pettimudi, located around 2 hours from Munnar pic.twitter.com/WXanwdN9Pd
— Jisha Surya (@jishasurya) August 7, 2020
On Monday, bodies of six people were found from the same river that is located five kilometers away from where the disaster struck.
Even as the rainfall has receded in most parts of the state by Tuesday, there was still light rain and mist in Pettimudi on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescue operations and search for the missing people were conducted on Monday, amid bad weather conditions, which has continued on Tuesday. Disinfectants have been sprayed in areas where rescue personnel gathered, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.
Later, on Tuesday, the situation was analysed over a meeting of people's representatives and officials. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, fire force, forest department, revenue, people's representatives and social workers worked together for the search operation.
Sixty-five families, including one that survived the disaster, have been moved to a safe place.