With the recovery of six more bodies on the fourth day, the toll in the Pettimudy landslip near Munnar in Kerala’s Idukki district rose to 49 on Monday noon.
The Revenue Department officials said the bodies were recovered from Kanniyar river near the estate lanes which went under the debris of the landslip on Thursday night. Four lanes were completely under earth and rocks. Till Sunday, 42 bodies had been recovered. The unfavourable weather with rains and mists continued to hamper the search operation.
According to official estimates, 21 people are still missing.
A National Disaster Response Force team numbering around 100 started the search on Monday morning along the banks of the Kannimala, a tributary of the Muthirapuzha. The Forest Department also engaged a 10-member team in the search. A 10-km distance along the Kanniyar was being combed to find the bodies washed away under the waters from the landslip, said the officials.
Devikulam Sub-Collector S. Premkrishnan said that the search was continuing and an autopsy was conducted at the makeshift mortuary and the bodies would be buried in the mass grave at Pettimudy.
District Collector H. Dinesan said though bad weather was the main hurdle, it was decided to continue the search to find the missing people. Continuous rain was affecting the rescue operation. The huge rocks that came down had been broken with the help of machines on Sunday, he added.
The district health department also decided to conduct antigen tests on all the members of the search team as part of the COVID-19 norms.
