Wayanad: The search for the people who went missing in the multiple landslides in Wayanad resumed on Monday, the seventh day following the calamity with bodies of 16 unidentified victims being laid to rest at a mass burial site at Puthumala near Meppadi.
The funeral services were held after interfaith prayers. The bodies were first buried as per the Christian ritual followed by the Hindu ritual, and then according to the Islamic ritual, with prayers and last rites. As many as 180 people are yet to be traced from landslide-hit Mundakkai and Chooralmala, said Revenue Minister K Rajan.
As many as 158 bodies and at least 31 unidentified corpses will be buried at Puthumala. Following an interfaith prayer gathering earlier on Sunday, eight unidentified bodies were buried here, the same location where five persons went missing in a landslide in 2019.
Due to inclement weather, the district's schools resumed after a week-long break. On Monday, schools that operate relief camps will remain shut for classes on Monday.
On Monday, August 5, search teams made up of volunteers, the NDRF, the Army, and the fire department carried out additional efforts to locate the people who went missing in the terrible landslides that struck the Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas last week.
A drone-based intelligence hidden object detection technology is being utilised to identify and rescue bodies beneath the wreckage. According to Additional Director General Police (ADGP) Ajith Kumar, a committee will be established to determine whose residences and structures have been demolished and where search activities will take place.
The committee will be composed of local citizens, police, army, and self-governing body members. After 28 more bodies were found in the Chaliyar River on Sunday, August 4, the total number of fatalities from the tragedy increased to 385.
Official statistics at the same time indicated that 221 bodies and 166 body parts had been found so far. According to officials, 142 body parts and 75 bodies have been discovered in the Chaliyar River thus far. The landslides that have occurred in Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Attamala have affected 4,833 persons in total.
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