MALAPPURAM: Despite search operations going on in full swing, only two bodies could be recovered from the debris at Kavalappara on Saturday. The victims are Vishnu, 25, son of Vijayan, Soothrathil House and Karthik, 17, son of Balan Kavalappara. With the recovery of two more bodies, the death toll has risen to 40. Search for the remaining 19 victims will continue on Sunday.
Arun Bhaskar, a Fire and Rescue Services officer, said the rescue team had searched 75 per cent of the area where the colony once stood.
“We hope to find the 19 missing people from the remaining 25 per cent area,” he said
“We were not able to use the Hitachi excavator in the wet soil. But we overcame the difficulty by creating a platform for it using logs,” he said.
Additionally, SC/ST Minister A K Balan, who visited the region, said there is no room for doubts regarding the rehabilitation package for tribal people in Kavalappara.
GPR to be pressed into service today
Kalpetta: No body could be recovered in the search at Puthumala on Saturday also. Hopes are now pinned on the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) which is expected to arrive on Sunday from National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad. The machine can detect the presence of human bones buried under the debris. More than 500 people, including NDRF, Fire and Rescue Services and volunteer groups, are engaged in search operations.
Navy medical team to reach affected area
Kochi: The Navy has dispatched a medical team to Puthumala. The team comprising two doctors, two nurses, four medical assistants, a Naval Police officer and a driver will assist the health officers deployed by the state to address health issues faced by landslide victims. The team reached Kalpetta on Saturday following instructions from the Commander in Chief of the Southern Naval Command and is slated to proceed to Puthumala on Sunday.