On Thursday, Indian soldiers were in a hurry to finish building a metal bridge to connect the area most affected by the landslides in Kerala. This comes as the search for survivors and bodies entered its third day in a disaster that has claimed at least 178 lives.
Heavy rains in Kerala, a popular Indian tourist destination, caused landslides in Wayanad district on Tuesday. These landslides sent mud, water, and boulders cascading down the hills, burying or sweeping away people in their sleep.
Army engineers were working to build a 190-foot (58-meter) bridge to transport heavy equipment from Chooralmala to Mundakkai. This was necessary after rising water levels in a local river washed away a temporary bridge on Wednesday. The main bridge had already been destroyed by the landslides on Tuesday, leaving Mundakkai isolated.
"Our bridge is almost complete... and once it's finished, it will make a big difference," said V.T. Mathew, a senior army official leading the rescue operations, in an interview with ANI news agency. "We will be able to bring all equipment to the site, and once that happens, we can start digging for people."
Rescue efforts have been hindered by continuous rain and rising water levels in the river. India's weather office predicts more heavy rain in the next 24 hours. This disaster is the worst in Kerala since the devastating floods of 2018. Experts believe that heavy rain over the past two weeks softened the soil, which was then hit by extremely heavy rainfall on Monday, triggering the landslides.
Authorities have confirmed 178 deaths and 190 missing persons. The local Asianet news TV channel reports a death toll of 267. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from hillside villages and tea and cardamom estates over the past two days.
The death toll is expected to rise once the metal bridge is completed, allowing authorities to accelerate the search. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who won a seat in Wayanad in the recent general election but resigned due to his election in his family's northern stronghold, is scheduled to visit the affected areas on Thursday.
