Wayanad (Keralam) [India], July 11 (ANI): Keralam Minister T Siddique said rescue teams will focus their search efforts on Zone 2 of the Wayanad landslide site on Saturday as authorities intensify operations to trace the lone missing person, Vikram Rana, expressing hope that a detailed excavation could lead to a breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters, Siddique said extensive inspections were carried out across all three search zones on Friday with the participation of multiple rescue agencies.
“Now we are concentrating all our inspections and focus on the search operations for Vikram Rana. Today we conducted a good inspection in Zones 1, 2 and 3. We also carried out maximum inspections in the Meenachipuzha River downstream. NDRF, the Fire Department and members from Turkey Life Rescue participated in it,” Siddique said.
He said officials, including the NDRF chief and the District Collector, had held consultations to finalise Saturday’s strategy.
“The soil dumped in Zone 2 will be removed tomorrow and full excavation will be carried out there. A thorough search will be conducted. Tomorrow, the full concentration will be on Zone 2. Based on today’s video analysis, there is hope. We are moving towards removing the large quantity of soil from Zone 2 and conducting a detailed inspection,” he said.
The minister added that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which is leading the operation, has confirmed that all logistical requirements have been met.
“NDRF said the current facilities are satisfactory. All the tipper lorries and related systems they requested have been arranged. We held consultations twice today to ask if any additional facilities were needed, and they said the existing arrangements are sufficient,” Siddique said.
Apart from rescue operations, Siddique reviewed relief measures being provided to displaced families staying in camps. He said food, clothing, medical facilities and transportation services were being provided without interruption.
“In the camp this morning, breakfast was arranged with milk, eggs and bananas. Snack kits have also been provided to every family. Clothes have been distributed, and a doctor has been stationed in Chooralmala, where earlier only a nurse was available. Jeep services continue to operate from morning till evening to ensure connectivity,” he said.
Meanwhile, a relative of Vikram Rana, who remains missing after the July 7 landslide, appreciated the ongoing rescue efforts.
“Vikram Rana is from Himachal Pradesh. They are making efforts and doing very good efforts to locate him. The Chief Minister and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also spoke to us,” the family member told ANI.
The death toll in the Wayanad landslide has risen to seven after rescue teams recovered the body of Rajesh, a native of East Midnapore in West Bengal, from the Meenachipuzha river downstream on Friday. The body was identified by family members and shifted for postmortem before being prepared for transportation to his hometown.
The landslide struck near the tunnel construction site at Kalladi in Meppadi Grama Panchayat on July 7, burying large sections of the worksite under several feet of debris. Personnel from the NDRF, Fire and Rescue Services and other agencies continue search and rescue operations using heavy machinery under challenging conditions. (ANI)
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