Idukki Rajamala landslide death toll rises to 26

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that 11 bodies were recovered from the site of the landslide at Rajamala in Idukki district and three are yet to be identified. This is in addition to the 15 bodies recovered yesterday. This brings the death toll in the landslide at the tea plantation to 26.

“The rescue operations are continuing at Rajamala in full swing. The post mortem of the victims is being speeded up. An amount of Rs.5 lakhs was announced yesterday as emergency assistance for those who lost their lives. The government will bear the medical treatment expenses of those injured in the disaster. The government will do everything possible to protect those who lost everything in the natural disaster. We will also support them to get back to their normal lives. 78 people were involved in the tragedy, 12 were rescued alive and 26 bodies have been found so far. Efforts are on to find the rest. Two teams of NDRF are involved in the rescue operations in addition to the locals, Police, Fire Force and plantation workers. Swamp formation due to the presence of water in the landslide area is posing a big challenge to the rescue operations”, the CM said.

Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan and Power Minister MM Mani are camping there to oversee and lead the rescue efforts. In the wake of the widespread rains in the State, about 3,530 families from low lying areas have been relocated to 342 camps. There are a total of 11,446 people in these camps.

The Chief Minister said that Wayanad district has the largest number of 69 camps with 3,795 people followed by 43 camps in Pathanamthitta district with 1,015 persons and 38 camps in Kottayam district with 801 persons. Heavy rains are expected to lash the state in the next few days.