KALPETTA: More than 100 people were killed and another 100 people were injured as a series of landslides hit the Meppadi region in Wayanad in the wee hours of Tuesday. According to the latest reports, 135 people, including women and children, were killed in the landslides. Most of them were sleeping in the comfort of their homes when the landslide struck the region.

Many people were trapped among the ruins as houses collapsed in the landslide. About two hundred people were rescued. 120 people were injured. 48 bodies have been identified so far. 128 people are in hospitals.

It is not clear how many people were washed away by the river. There is no information about more than 100 people. 32 mutilated bodies, washed away by the Chaliyar River, were recovered from the Nilambur area of ​​Malappuram. Bodies without heads were also found in the area.

An entire village was completely washed away in three landslides that hit the Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas of Meppadi panchayat at around 12.30 am on Tuesday. The only bridge to the area also collapsed due to landslides. The Mundakai river diverted and flowed in another direction. Rocks, trees, houses and vehicles were all swept away. The first landslide occurred at Chooralmala. The landslide hit Mundakkai around four in the morning.

Panic rippled throughout the region as many individuals were washed away by the raging water. Although people in the region immediately informed the outside world about the matter, rescue workers were unable to rush to the site immediately. More than 100 people took shelter in a hilltop resort. The collapse of the bridge hampered the rescue operation in Mundakkai. By Tuesday evening, the army set up a temporary bridge to rescue those stranded in the region.

Nearly 1200 families

Nearly 1200 families are living in the Chooralmala, Attamala and Mundakkai areas of Vellarimala village. Most of the victims were people living on the riverside and families of labourers living in layams of tea plantations. A small stream running through the region flowed like a huge river on Tuesday. The market and school in the area were entirely destroyed.