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Two dead, 7 missing after landslide hits Kerala's Wayanad tunnel project
Officials added that local residents rescued at least three people from the site, where workers associated with the tunnel project were staying.
Two people have been killed, and at least seven were injured after a landslide was reported in Kerala's Wayanad district on Tuesday. As per Fire and Rescue Services officials, the landslide occurred at Kalladi near Meppady in the district.
Citing officials involved in the mission, news agency PTI reported that the landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on a tunnel road project connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts was underway.
Officials added that local residents rescued at least three people from the site, where workers associated with the tunnel project were staying.
Apart from that, PTI reported that a few vehicles that transport tunnel employees were also damaged in the landslide.
Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also been deployed for the rescue operation.
CM Satheesan calls emergency meeting
In the wake of the landslide, Chief Minister V.D. Satheeshan held an emergency meeting with Wayanad Minister T. Siddique and directed him to coordinate the rescue operations.
As per ANI, a statement from the Chief Minister's office stated that Revenue Minister AP Anil Kumar, along with Minister Siddique, has been asked to go to Wayanad immediately.
‘Man-made’ landslide, says minister
Calling the incident a consequence of "unscientific dumping" linked to an ongoing tunnel project, Agriculture Minister T Siddique said the disaster could have been avoided if earlier warnings had been acted upon.
"This is not a natural landslide. It is a man-made landslide. It happened due to the unscientific dumping of excavated earth," he said.
"It's a disaster perpetuated by unscientific dumping of soil and mud as part of the tunnel project. There were indications of such actions and they were raised at meetings of the Konkan officials. But it seems no corrective steps were taken. Six people have been hospitalised so far. NDRF teams from Kozhikode and Wayanad are enroute. Efforts are on to search for trapped people and coordinate rescue operations," Siddique added further.
