The death toll in the Wayanad landslide rose to five on Thursday after rescue teams recovered two more bodies from the disaster site, Kerala Ministers A P Anil Kumar and T Siddique said.
One body was recovered from zone 1 of the search area on Thursday morning, while the other was found in the river, the ministers told reporters.
"Searches will be carried out in zone 1 and 2 of the area. Will be focusing search operations near the river also," Anil Kumar said.
The search operation will continue in the designated zones, with special focus on areas along the river, officials said. Three people remain missing.
Siddique said the postmortem of the bodies would be conducted at the Vythiri Taluk Hospital, following which they would be embalmed at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital.
A landslide struck the site of the Anakkompoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which is being built to connect Wayanad and Kozhikode districts, on July 7.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister V D Satheesan had said search operations would be given priority. He had also said that of the 10 people injured in the incident, three had been discharged, four remained hospitalised in stable condition, and three were in the ICU, including two who were in critical condition.
(With inputs from PTI)
