Landslides in India’s Kerala kill 93; hundreds rescued

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India - Landslides swept through tea estates and villages in southern India’s Kerala state on July 30, killing at least 93 people, as hillsides collapsed after heavy rain and sent rivers of mud, water and boulders onto homes of workers and villagers.

The hillsides gave way after midnight following torrential rainfall on July 29 in the Wayanad district of Kerala, a state renowned as one of India’s most popular tourist destinations.

Most of the victims were estate workers and their families, who were asleep at the time in makeshift tents. Television footage showed relief personnel working amid uprooted trees and flattened tin structures as boulders lay strewn at the site with muddy water gushing through.

One man was stuck in chest-high mud for hours, TV footage showed, struggling to free himself until rescue workers finally reached him.

People were killed and a hundred families stranded after the landslides, the local Asianet TV reported.

Nearly 350 families lived in the affected region, mostly tea and cardamom estates, and 250 people had been rescued so far, state officials said. Many others are missing.

Army engineers were roped in to help build an alternative bridge after the one that linked the affected area to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, the chief minister’s office said in a statement.

“A small team has managed to cross the bridge across the river and reach (the site), but we will need to send many more to provide help and to start rescue operations,” Kerala Chief Secretary V. Venu told reporters, adding that many people were still missing.

The weather office said there had been extremely heavy rainfall over north and central Kerala thus far on July 30, with more rain predicted through the day.

Although the area is a well-known tourist destination, local residents were the most affected as all tourist excursions had been halted since July 29 due to the rain.

The landslides on July 30 are the worst disaster there since 2018 when heavy floods killed almost 400 people.

State Cabinet minister M.B. Rajesh earlier said that at least 44 people were killed and 250 shifted to temporary shelters, but rescue efforts were hampered due to the collapse of a bridge.

“We fear the gravity of this tragedy is much more. Rescue operations are being carried out by various agencies on a war footing,” Mr Rajesh said.

Mr Rashid Padikkalparamban, a resident involved in relief efforts, said there were at least three landslides in the area starting around midnight, which washed away the bridge connecting the Mundakkai estates to Chooralmala.

“Many people who were working in the estates and staying in makeshift tents inside are feared trapped or missing,” he said.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who won the recently contested general election at Wayanad, but resigned as he was also elected for his family bastion in the north, said he had spoken to the state chief minister to ensure coordination with all agencies.

“The devastation unfolding in Wayanad is heartbreaking,” he said in a message on X. “I have urged the union government to extend all possible support.” REUTERS