Wayanad landslide search continues for five missing people
Search teams, cadaver dogs and NDRF personnel continue efforts to find five missing workers after the Wayanad landslide killed three.
- Landslide at Wayanad tunnel-road construction site: three confirmed dead, five missing; search ongoing.
- Unnatural-death case registered; formal investigation launched by local authorities.
- Rescue resources: cadaver dogs, fire force, NDRF teams; area divided into four search zones; downstream river searches underway.
- Road toward Chooralmala cleared for access; significant mud remains to be removed after searches complete.
- State called it a “man-made disaster” citing accumulated mud; construction company disputes blame, says slide occurred above project land.
- Official on site: mud accumulation increased slide intensity; ongoing rains hindering operations.
- Three deceased were migrant workers (from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand); seven injured being treated at Meppadi WIMS Hospital.
- Chief Minister V D Satheesan to visit the site to assess relief and probe next steps.
Rescue teams continued a frantic search on Wednesday in Wayanad after a landslide at a tunnel-road construction site killed three people and left five unaccounted for, officials said. As monsoon rains persisted, the scene around the site felt raw and fragile: mud-streaked slopes, flattened vegetation, and the quiet concentration of rescuers combing through unstable debris in the hope of finding survivors.
Wayanad Superintendent of Police Devamanohar told reporters that an unnatural-death case has been registered and a formal investigation launched. Authorities have marshalled significant resources: cadaver dogs, fire force units and teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed. To make the search systematic, officials divided the area into four zones and extended efforts downstream along the river, where flowing water can carry debris far from the initial slip.
Clearing the blocked roads has been a pressing task; the route toward Chooralmala was opened to allow access for heavy machinery and emergency teams. Yet, the officer cautioned that large volumes of mud still rest at the site and can only be removed once search operations finish, underscoring the tension between the urgent need to find missing persons and the practical realities of stabilising dangerous terrain.
Rain hampered work. Rescuers battling through silt and slush said ongoing showers made the hillside more unstable, slowed visibility, and increased the risk for teams operating in precarious conditions. For many of the responders, the mission carried an added human weight: the three confirmed dead were migrant workers — Chandraban, an operator from Madhya Pradesh; Bikash Kumar, a civil foreman from Bihar; and Anmol, a labourer from Jharkhand. Their colleagues and families now waited anxiously for news, while the small rescue teams strove for both speed and caution.
Tensions simmered over the cause. The state government had earlier described the tragedy as a “man-made disaster,” alleging that mud had accumulated at the construction site despite directions from the district administration and the Public Works Department minister, P K Basheer. The general manager of the construction company rejected that account, saying the landslide occurred well above the company’s allotted work area and that accumulated mud on company land was not the cause.
When reporters asked Wayanad District Collector Meghashree D R about the company GM’s denial, she declined to comment. One official participating in rescue operations added nuance, saying that while the actual slide may have originated above the construction zone, accumulated mud in parts of the area increased the slide’s intensity — a reminder that multiple factors can combine to turn a slope into a deadly flow.
Seven injured people were receiving treatment at Meppadi WIMS Hospital as of Tuesday night, officials said. Their conditions varied; families and rescuers hoped that prompt medical care and the clearing of access routes would aid recoveries.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan planned to visit the site on Wednesday, according to government sources, a move likely aimed at both offering condolences and assessing immediate relief and accountability measures. For local residents, the visit and the subsequent investigation represent more than procedure: they are a step toward answers for families who have lost breadwinners, and toward practical changes that might prevent a replay.
As search teams worked, the landscape was full of quiet stories: neighbours bringing tea to rescuers, workers holding a brief, shared prayer for the missing, and the alternating hum of machinery and radio chatter. In the coming days, investigators will piece together weather records, site maps, construction logs and witness accounts to establish cause. For now, the focus remains painfully immediate — finding the missing and supporting the bereaved.