Three Days Post-Landslides in Kerala, India, Four Individuals Found Alive
Four individuals were successfully rescued three days after landslides occurred in Kerala, India.
TroibNews 
Four individuals were saved from a residence in Kerala, India, on Friday, having been trapped for three days following severe landslides, energizing search efforts due to the recent completion of a crucial bridge. This infrastructure has been key in facilitating the transfer of heavy machinery to the stricken area.
Torrential rains in Kerala, a major tourist hotspot in southern India, initiated landslides in the Wayanad district hills on early Tuesday. This natural calamity sent mudslides, water, and boulders cascading down the slopes, resulting in numerous fatalities as residents were caught off-guard in their sleep.
This incident marks Kerala's gravest natural disaster since the fatal floods of 2018, culminating in 195 deaths with nearly 200 individuals still unaccounted for, according to officials. Local Asianet TV reported a higher death toll at 292.
An army rescue team successfully extricated two men and two women from an isolated location on Friday, revealed by V. T. Mathew, a senior army official. "They were not buried; they were just in a remote area," Mathew commented, noting that one of the rescued individuals had sustained injuries.
The initial rescue operations were impeded as the bridge linking Mundakkai, the hardest hit region, to the nearby town of Chooralmala was destroyed. The restoration of the 190-foot bridge by army engineers has since enabled the movement of heavy vehicles and the use of drones equipped with subterranean sensing technology to locate victims.
In an extensive search, rescue crews, bolstered by swimmers, are concentrating their efforts along the Chaliyar River and its banks, anticipating recovery of more victims.
Specialists noted that the area had experienced consistent heavy rainfall over the past fortnight, which loosened the soil, making it susceptible to the landslides triggered by further intense rain last Monday.
Authorities report that around 1,600 individuals have been rescued from mountain villages and agricultural lands affected by the disaster in recent days, and approximately 350 structures have sustained damage.
James del Carmen for TROIB News
Torrential rains in Kerala, a major tourist hotspot in southern India, initiated landslides in the Wayanad district hills on early Tuesday. This natural calamity sent mudslides, water, and boulders cascading down the slopes, resulting in numerous fatalities as residents were caught off-guard in their sleep.
This incident marks Kerala's gravest natural disaster since the fatal floods of 2018, culminating in 195 deaths with nearly 200 individuals still unaccounted for, according to officials. Local Asianet TV reported a higher death toll at 292.
An army rescue team successfully extricated two men and two women from an isolated location on Friday, revealed by V. T. Mathew, a senior army official. "They were not buried; they were just in a remote area," Mathew commented, noting that one of the rescued individuals had sustained injuries.
The initial rescue operations were impeded as the bridge linking Mundakkai, the hardest hit region, to the nearby town of Chooralmala was destroyed. The restoration of the 190-foot bridge by army engineers has since enabled the movement of heavy vehicles and the use of drones equipped with subterranean sensing technology to locate victims.
In an extensive search, rescue crews, bolstered by swimmers, are concentrating their efforts along the Chaliyar River and its banks, anticipating recovery of more victims.
Specialists noted that the area had experienced consistent heavy rainfall over the past fortnight, which loosened the soil, making it susceptible to the landslides triggered by further intense rain last Monday.
Authorities report that around 1,600 individuals have been rescued from mountain villages and agricultural lands affected by the disaster in recent days, and approximately 350 structures have sustained damage.
James del Carmen for TROIB News
