IDUKKI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan reached Munnar to visit Pettimudi in Rajamala where a massive landslide struck killing 55 people. The two reached Munnar in helicopter. Revenue Minister E Chandrahekaran and DGP too accompanied them. Minister M M Mani camping in the place came to receive them. The team will be going to Rajamala by road which is forty kilometres away from Munnar. They will reach Rajamala in one and a half hours and then will visit Pettimudi. They will later attend the review meet to be convened in Munnar.

The chief minister is visiting Rajamala after many political controversies. The opposition and the BJP had harshly criticised the chief minister for not visiting the Pettimudi accident spot. The two had visited the Karipur disaster area. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan had visited the spot.

The death toll in the landslip rose to 55 with the recovery of three more bodies on Wednesday. The bodies were recovered from a river five kilometres away from the disaster area. The body of a girl was in a decomposed condition. Five earth movers and hundreds of rescue operators are searching the place.