WAYANAD: Agony and sighs of rescued people hover over the uneasy silence of the dead who were buried under slush and concrete rubble in the landslides-hit regions of Wayanad.
On television screens were heart-wrenching images of a father searching for his missing daughter and similar such people even as Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan said exact figures are not available yet of the people who have gone missing following the landslides.
An all-party meeting, chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, will be held in the hill district on Thursday as search and rescue operations by various agencies and armed forces continue in the landslides-hit areas in Wayanad.
State ministers camping in the district, MLAs from Wayanad and political party leaders will participate in the meeting, the district administration said.
Besides the all-party meet, Congress leader and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to visit the relief camps set up in the landslides-hit areas of the district, according to a statement issued by the party.
According to the updates of the death toll on Wednesday night, 167 people have died and 191 are missing in the landslides with over 200 injured. At least 2000 people are living in camps as of now.
While the death toll kept rising, Post mortem has been performed on 166 bodies so far. Of the dead, 100 have been identified, the district administration said.
The rescue operations continued on the third day with teams of the army, navy and coast guard carrying out a detailed search at three locations at Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
A dog squad each would be attached to the teams, a statement said. A total of 1160 workers are involved in the rescue operations.
The construction of the bailey bridge to connect the landslides-hit areas is expected to be completed by Thursday afternoon. Bridge is constructed to help move machineries meant for the rescue operations.
More machineries including excavators would be pressed into service in the search operation, Minister Rajan said.
Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday, killing several people, including women and children.
