Wayanad Landslide: Death Toll Reaches 150 Amidst Ongoing Rescue Operations

The death toll from the devastating landslide in Wayanad has risen to 150 as of the morning of July 31. Brigadier Arjun Seagan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre, reported that 500 to 600 personnel, including members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the army, state police, forest officials, and volunteers, have been tirelessly conducting rescue operations.

Brigadier Seagan provided an update on the situation, noting the teams’ efforts to reconstruct a bridge to facilitate the movement of earth-moving equipment, which is crucial for the ongoing digging process. “The rescue operations have been ongoing since yesterday morning. Yesterday, due to bad weather conditions, the rescue teams were not able to rescue a lot of people. Around 500 to 600 personnel from the NDRF team, army, state police, forest officials, and volunteers have been carrying out the rescue operations today. We are trying our best to build the bridge again so that we can move the earth-moving equipment inside and make the digging process easier. We have been doing the process manually as of now,” he said.

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Highlighting the challenges posed by the weather, Brigadier Seagan mentioned that airlifting would commence as soon as conditions improved. “As soon as the weather conditions improve, we will start airlifting people. 150 deaths have been recorded so far. Around 200 to 250 individuals have been rescued as of now. First aid is being provided to these people. There is not much danger as of now since the rain has stopped. The rescue operations will most likely continue today and tomorrow. We are doing our best to rescue the people,” he added.

Earlier today, the Indian Army ramped up its rescue operations, successfully evacuating more than 1,000 people from the affected areas. The Army’s Southern Command reported that up to 1,000 personnel have been rescued using man-made bridges and significant human effort.

The coordinated rescue efforts involved Indian Army Columns, NDRF, state rescue teams, the Coast Guard, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force (IAF). Two additional Army Columns were airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram by Indian Air Force AN 32 and C 130 aircraft, landing at Calicut at 10:30 PM on Tuesday. These columns commenced their journey to Wayanad early Wednesday morning.

The Engineer Task Force from the Madras Engineer Group and Centre arrived on-site at 2:00 AM, planning to erect a class 24, 170-foot bridge at Chooralmala. Reconnaissance at Meppadi-Chooralmala Road is currently underway. Essential bridging assets, including three sets of Bailey Bridges, JCBs, and TATRA trucks, are en route to Wayanad. An Army Control Centre has been co-located with the State Administration Control Room established at Meppadi by the Commandant of the PARA Regimental Centre.

Despite adverse weather conditions and poor visibility, Indian Air Force helicopters have also been conducting search and rescue operations, rescuing stranded individuals from narrow strips of land.