Rescuers using an advanced radar system in the landslide-affected village of Mundakkai in Wayanad initially detected a signal that indicated possible breathing, which could have been from a human or an animal. After hours of searching, officials confirmed that the signal was a false alarm and no humans were found under the debris. The signal was likely from a snake or a frog.
An official involved in the operation reported that a "blue signal" was detected by the radar while searching an area where a house once stood. “There was a consistent signal of breathing,” the officer told reporters.
According to local residents, the signal was detected in the area where the kitchen and store room of the house were located. Based on the signal, rescuers have started digging into the spot.
The remains of the building were buried approximately two to three meters beneath the muddy soil, making it difficult to determine whether the signal was from a human or an animal. The signal was detected in the area where the kitchen and storeroom of the house had been located, prompting rescuers to dig in that spot.
Earlier on Friday, four people were found alive during search operations on the fourth day after massive landslides struck Kerala’s Wayanad district.
A Defence PRO said Vellarimala residents, John K J, Jomol John, Christene John and Abraham John were rescued and "evacuated through a safe route to a nearby relief camp."
Earlier, there were plans to airlift the family but later a safe route was identified, sources said.
The family agreed to shift to the relief camp after the rescuers including the Army and the NDRF team assured a safe route from their residence to the camp.
The death toll has risen to 308. However, the official count stands at 210. With nearly 300 persons still missing, the death toll is expected to go up.
Kerala ADGP M R Ajith Kumar on Friday said that approximately 300 people were still missing in the devastating landslides that hit the region. 348 houses are said to have been damaged in the landslides.
Despite heavy rains and challenging terrain, 40 rescue teams are continuing their search operations. The joint teams include personnel from the army, NDRF, DSG, Coast Guard, Navy, and MEG, along with three locals and one forest department employee.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Friday said, “ICUs are ready in Wayanad hospitals to provide intensive care to those rescued from the disaster areas”.
Hospitals including Manjeri Medical College and Kozhikode Medical College, which can be reached by airlift, have also been set up.
Minister also added, so far, the post-mortem procedures of 207 dead bodies have been completed. Apart from this, DNA samples of 130 body parts were also taken.
Rescue teams used GPS coordinates from aerial drone pictures and cell phones, including the last location of people who lived in the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad to help locate survivors trapped under the debris, amidst accelerated search operations after the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge by the Army.
Wayand Collector Meghashree D R told reporters that the worst-affected Mundakkai and Chooralmala hamlets have been turned into six zones where 40 teams of rescue personnel have been deployed along with cadaver dogs and heavy machinery to look for survivors and unearth remains from the debris.
The 40 teams will conduct search operations in six zones of the landslides-hit areas -- Attamala and Aaranmala (first), Mundakkai (second), Punchirimattam (third), Vellarimala village (fourth), GVHSS Vellarimala (fifth), and riverbank (sixth).
She also said that from aerial photographs taken by drones, GPS coordinates of certain search locations have been identified.
"We mapped all this data and gave it to all the teams so that the search and rescue operations can proceed efficiently and speedily," the Collector added.
State Health Minister Veena George that a Mental Health Disaster Management team has been formed in Kerala to provide psychosocial support to survivors of the devastating landslide at Wayanad, where over 200 people lost their lives and almost as many are still missing.
George said a 121-member team of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers and counsellors was formed on Tuesday, soon after the disaster struck the hilly district of Kerala.
Leader of Opposition in Parliament(LoP) and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that he will raise the Wayanad landslide in Delhi added that Kerala has not seen this type of tragedy in one area.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached Wayanad yesterday after massive landslides hit the district three days ago taking over 300 lives.
"Congress promises to build more than 100 houses in Wayanad,” said Rahul Gandhi.
On Thursday night, the army completed the construction of a Bailey bridge at Chooralmala that could help speed up search operations at upstream Mundakkai and Punjirimattom villages.
The search and rescue operations received an impetus due to the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge that will enable the movement of heavy machinery, including excavators, and ambulances to the worst-affected Mundakkai and Chooralmala hamlets, the official added.
On the third day, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the affected areas.
During his visit he said that all the survivors in Mundakkai have been rescued, indicating that there is little hope of finding more people alive.
Vijayan also said that Revenue Minister K Rajan, Forest Minister A K Saseendran, PWD and Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas, and SC/ST Department Minister O R Kelu will camp in the district and help with the rescue efforts.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the site of the landslide.
“I feel the same profound sorrow I felt the day my father died. Many here have lost their entire families, making their pain even greater,” Rahul Gandhi said after visiting the affected areas.
Minister K Rajan, who is coordinating the rescue efforts, said 1,300 personnel from various agencies and the armed forces carried out joint search-and-rescue operations in the area, braving the rains, winds and difficult terrain and without the help of heavy machinery.
He also said that 9,328 people have been relocated to 91 relief camps in the district.
Of these, 2,328 people from 578 families displaced due to the landslides at Chooralmala and Meppadi have been moved to nine relief camps, he added.
Following the construction of the Bailey bridge on Thursday night which would expedite the rescue efforts, death toll is expected to rise.
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