PETTIMUDI: Rescue workers on Monday pulled out the bodies of six tea estate workers who went missing after the devastating landslide at Rajamala near Munnar four days ago.
With this, the death toll in the tragedy has risen to 49. As many as 22 people are still missing from the site.
All the six bodies were pulled out from the Pettimudi stream that flows near the workers' quarters. The bodies were found around two km from the quarters.
A statement from the district administration said the scuba diving team of the Fire Force found two bodies on Monday morning. Four bodies have been identified. They are Vinodini (14), Rajalakshmi (12), Pratheesh (32) and Veluthai (58).
The stream flows into Muthirapuzha river which is a tributary of the Periyar. Rescue workers said that as the debris flow was heavy, the water could have swept away some of the victims into the river. This will make the search an arduous task as they will have to extend it to the downstream areas of the river.
Meanwhile cadaver search dog Maya and search and rescue dog Dona could not join the rescue operation on Monday as they were not keeping well. The dog squad has returned to Thrissur.