Wayanad landslide: Territorial Army and 2 IAF choppers deployed; death toll hits 41

Wayanad, struck by a devastating landslide, is receiving military assistance for rescue efforts. The Air Force has launched ALH and MI17 helicopters, with two Sarang helicopters spearheading the initial response. A rescue team, led by seasoned Group Captain Prashant, will establish a base at the SKMJ School ground in Kalpetta. The Army’s focus will be on providing aid, including airlifts, to the severely affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooral Mala in Wayanad. In response to the critical situation, the Territorial Army’s 122 Battalion from Kozhikode is dispatching a 50-member company, with additional support from two teams from Kannur Cantonment and a 190-member Army team, 138 of whom are already on the ground. An NDRF team is operational, with two more on the way, along with two Defense Security Teams.

Union Minister George Kurien told Asianet News that more units of the Army, Air Force, and Navy will be deployed to Wayanad for rescue operations. Instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office are to prepare necessary systems for these efforts. Three landslides struck between 2 am and 6 am, causing widespread destruction. Chooralmala in Wayanad was severely affected, with much of the town, including shops and vehicles, swept away. According to the district administration, 41 fatalities have been confirmed, though the actual death toll may be higher due to the inaccessibility of parts of the affected area. In Attamala, villagers have recovered six bodies from the river, likely swept from Mundakkai, which has turned into a raging torrent.

In the Pothukallu panchayath area, 11 bodies have been retrieved from the River Chaliyar, which has reached dangerously high water levels due to the landslides in the Meppadi slopes. The past 24 hours saw extremely heavy rainfall in the environmentally fragile areas of Meppadi, Vythiri, and Vaduvanchal. Data from the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology’s weather stations indicated that many locations along the Western Ghat region received over 300 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.