Kerala Munnar Landslide: At Least 15 Dead, Dozens Missing After Heavy Rain
At least five people have been killed and dozens are feared trapped under the debris after a powerful landslide hit Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala. The landslide struck in the early hours of Friday in Rajamala, at a place where some 80 tea plantation workers used to live.
At least 15 people have been killed and dozens are feared trapped under the debris after a powerful landslide hit Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala.
The landslide struck in the early hours of Friday in Rajamala, at a place where some 80 tea plantation workers used to live.At least 70 people were suspected to be trapped under the soil, burying as many as 20 houses of plantation workers.
Indiatimes
Parthasarathy, a local resident told the media that he was aware of three rows of houses inhabited by around 80 tea estate workers and their families.
#WATCH 5 dead in landslide in Idukki's Rajamala, #Kerala; 10 rescued so far
¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2020
Kerala CM has requested assistance from Indian Air Force for the rescue operation. pic.twitter.com/yWmwXHUxEz
"But we do not know how many were there when the landslide occurred. I feel that many of the workers were at their homes due to heavy rain in the past few days. Moreover, communication with the area too has snapped, including electricity supply," said Parthasarathy. Meanwhile, the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has contacted the Air Force seeking its helicopter for the rescue mission in Idukki.
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"The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed for the rescue operations in Idukki. The team was already stationed in the district. Another NDRF team from Thrissur was also directed to move to Idukki," Vijayan said in a Facebook post.
State Power Minister MM Mani, who hails from the district, said the landslide had occurred at a place where tea estate workers were staying.
INDIATIMES
The news about the landslide reached the outside world only a few hours later as the area has been cut off after a bridge collapsed a few days ago and power and connectivity have also been affected.
Munnar MLA S Rajendran told the media that it was difficult to reach the spot as a bridge that provided access to the area was washed away in the rains.
"At least 200-300 people live there. There are many lanes and a canteen at the location. We are yet to receive further details. Since one of the bridges to that area was destroyed last night, it has become difficult to access the region," he added.
INDIATIMES
"Also, those who are there are finding it difficult to contact us because the only mobile tower there is not functioning properly due to power failure," Rajendran said.
Kerala has been experiencing heavy to very heavy rains since Saturday.
The India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for Idukki on Friday, indicating extremely heavy rainfall of over 20 cms.
Idukki district has been one of the worst-hit, with almost all rivers flowing above the danger mark. Most of the dams in Idukki are also nearing its capacity.
If the rains continue, shutters of some of them could be raised, which will result in more flooding in the Periyar River.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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