The death toll in the Wayanad landslide rose to six on Thursday after rescue teams recovered three more bodies, district officials said.
The deceased were identified as migrant workers, surveyor Azharuddin Ansari from Uttar Pradesh, engineer Rahul Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, and excavator operator Mohammed Imran from Bihar.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Ministers A P Anil Kumar and T Siddique said one body was recovered from zone 1 of the search area, while another was found in the river.
"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.
Siddique said the postmortem examinations would be conducted at the Vythiri Taluk Hospital, after which the bodies would be embalmed at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital.
The landslide struck on July 7 at the construction site of the Anakkompoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which is intended to improve connectivity between Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.
With the latest recoveries, two people remain missing, and search operations are continuing.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said search efforts would be accorded top 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 intensive care unit, including two in critical condition.
(With inputs from PTI)
