Landslide in Wayanad’s Kalladi; Four more bodies recovered, toll touches seven

KALPETTA: The bodies of four more missing in the landslide at Kalladi in Wayanad, were recovered on Thursday. The bodies of site engineer Rahul Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, excavator operator Mohammad Imran of Bihar, surveyor Azharuddin Ansari from Uttar Pradesh and one unidentified body were recovered today, taking the death toll in the disaster to seven.

The bodies of three who died in the accident were found earlier. The dead have been identified as Anmol Dodrai from Jharkhand, Bikash Kumar Singh from Bihar and Chandrabhan Pal from Madhya Pradesh. Construction manager Vikram Rana and surveyor Rakesh Guchait is yet to be found. It is believed that the unidentified body belongs to one of them.

The search is progressing in the area. The bus stuck in the river has been moved to the bank. The authorities informed that more machinery can be brought to the area as the soil has been removed. There is also concern that rain will pose a challenge to the search. A large team of more than 500 people, including NDRF, RRF, fire force and local police, is leading the search. Cadaver dogs have also been deployed for the search. There was moderate rain in the area earlier. Authorities said that the weather is presently favorable.