The Indian Army further intensified its Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in the second day in the landslide-hit areas of Wayanad.
Six HADR columns comprising around 500 personnel, including medical staff, along with bridging equipment and rescue dogs have been deployed. Around 1,000 people have been rescued, provided medical aid, and evacuated to the safer places by the Army. Eighty-six bodies too have been recovered.
The Army has set up a Command and Control Centre headed by Major General V.T. Mathew, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala Sub-area, along with Brigadier Arjun Segan in Kozhikode for coordinating HADR efforts. The troops are conducting rescue operations along a 6-kilometre stretch of landslide-affected areas.
The troops were mobilised from Kannur, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram. Two columns each belonging to DSC Centre, Kannur and 122 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) MADRAS, Kozhikode, with a total strength of 225 personnel were the first responders. Two additional HADR columns, including two medical teams with a strength of 135 personnel, were airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode by AN-32 and C-130 aircraft.
Construction of a bridge on the Meppadi-Chooralmala road is in progress, including airlifting of earth-moving equipment to the other side of the stream. A foot bridge was constructed overnight.
Three dog teams
A C-17 aircraft carrying another set of 110-foot-long bailey bridge and three search and rescue dog teams has also landed in Kannur. A contingent of the Indian Air Force air-dropped food and drinking water weighing around 250 kg in Chooralmala and Mundakkai.
A chopper joins search and rescue operations following landslides in Mundakai, in Wayanad district, Kerala, on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: TP BINU
An advance party from Madras Engineers Group and Centre conducted reconnaissance on the Meppadi-Chooralmala Road to establish the requirement for bridge resources in the affected areas. .
The Southern Naval Command also joined the relief operations, dispatching a disaster relief team of 68 personnel from INS Zamorin at Ezhimala based on the request from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). Additional teams have been kept standby for deployment at short notice.
