KOZHIKODE: Though rain subsided and 13 earth-movers were deployed to conduct combing operations at Puthumala on Tuesday, the missing are yet to be recovered. The search operation is being carried out as per the sketch of the area before the landslide. As many as seven persons are yet to be traced.
The huge debris comprising deep slush, concrete waste and wood, scattered across a vast area, have been posing a threat to combing operations here. Adding to the woes, the New Delhi-based private firm, which has been entrusted with bringing Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), has conveyed that the machine won’t be practical at Puthumala.
“GPR detects human bones stuck inside the debris, thereby confirming death. Here, however, there are lots of boulders and wood constituting the debris, which will make it impossible for the machine to detect,” said Sub Collector N S K Umesh.
88,854 people shifted
District Collector A R Ajaya Kumar said as many as 88,854 people have been shifted from their houses in Wayanad. As many as 4,000 people from landslide-hit Puthumala have been shifted.