Kerala: Idukki landslide death toll rises to 58

The death toll in the landslide at Pettimudi near Munnar in the high-range Idukki district has gone up to 58 with two more bodies being recovered from the debris.

Idukki: With the recovery of two more bodies, the death toll of the Rajamala landslide in Idukki rose to 58 on Sunday, informed the Idukki District Collector (DC).

"Two more bodies were found today, taking the death toll in the Rajamala landslide to 58. 12 missing people are yet to be traced," the DC said.

Two NDRF teams, a full unit of Idukki fire and rescue team, a team each from Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, and a team which received special training are leading the rescue operations in Idukki's Rajamala, the District Information Office had said on Sunday.

On Friday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to kin of the deceased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed his condolences over deaths due to landslide and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakhs each from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the kin of deceased.

Heavy rains in several parts of Kerala triggered floods and landslides which have wreaked havoc in the region over the past few days.