IDUKKI: The over 200-strong team of rescuers has been on a mission for the past two days to locate people who went missing from the Pettimudi settlement in Rajamala near Munnar after the landslide hit the settlement on Thursday night. Equipped with earth movers, concrete cutters, sledgehammers and chainsaws, they have been scouring through the debris for almost 11 hours every day, ignoring the incessant rain and the possibility another landslip. The operation began a day after the landslide tore Pettimudi apart killing many people and destroying four estate settlements consisting 30 houses. With nine bodies recovered on Saturday, the death toll in the mishap rose to 26.
According to the release issued by the district administration, the search is on to retrieve the remaining 45 residents who are still missing. The search team has a unique composition. It comprises 52 officers of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 80 persons from the Red Sport rescue team and 100 officials from the revenue and fire departments. The search is led by Devikulam sub-collector Prem Krishnan. On Saturday, the rescue personnel recovered the bodies of 58-year-old Shanmukhayya, his wife Saraswathy, Kuttiraj, 48, his wife Vijila, 46, their sons Deepak, 18 and Manikandam, 20, and Prabhu. Meanwhile, the survivors said victims included two pregnant women and 10 children.