Wayanad landslide: Search for 5 missing persons hampered by soil instability, rain

Continuous rain and fears over unstable soil at the landslide site are major challenges faced by teams engaged in search for five workers missing since the disaster struck Kalladi near Meppadi on July 7.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had declared Yellow alert in Wayanad on Wednesday, July 8, with heavy rainfall of 7–11 cm likely at isolated places.The region where the landslide happened had received around 265 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on July 7.The missing men, all employees of Dilip Buildcon Ltd, have been identified as construction manager Vikram Rana, engineer Rahul, excavator operator Mohammad Imran, and surveyors Rakesh Guchait and Azharuddin Ansari. While Vikram and Rahul belong to Himachal Pradesh, Imran is from Bihar. Rakesh hails from West Bengal, and Azharuddin Ansari is a native of Uttar Pradesh.At the site, earthmovers have now fully cleared the debris and mud that had piled up on the Meenakshi bridge and the approach road, which had cut off connectivity in the area. "PWD officials have examined the bridge and have said it is safe to use. The bridge has lost railings. Temporary arrangements would be made to ensure safety," a senior official with the district administration said.Rescue teams continue to search for missing persons but without luck since July 7. More vehicles and heavy machinery moved in through July 8 but the progress is slow. "A major concern is soil stability. We would temporarily stop the work if the weather is adverse. We are giving utmost priority to the safety of workers engaged in search operations," the official said.Sources said the search operation would continue through the night but only National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, which have been split into two, would be involved. "Currently the 64-member NDRF team has been split into two and are taking turns. Search operation would be called off temporarily only if the rain situation worsens," an official said.The affected area has been split into four zones, each placed under a designated officer to coordinate the search operation. Cadaver dogs and Ground Penetrating Radar units have been deployed across these zones to trace bodies still buried under the debris.Meanwhile, the bodies of three workers who died in the landslide — machine operator Chandra Bhan of Madhya Pradesh, civil foreman Bikash Kumar of Bihar, and worker Anmol of Jharkhand — have been embalmed at Kozhikode Medical College and are being arranged to be flown to their home states, reports said.