Two more bodies found, toll touches to five in Kalladi tragedy

KALPETTA: The death toll in the Wayanad Kalladi tragedy has risen to five. Two more bodies were recovered from the area near the Meenakshy River early Thursday morning. The authorities have shifted the bodies to the hospital. Three more people are yet to be found. The search was conducted in four zones yesterday. The search in two of these zones was completed yesterday.

The search is presently underway in the remaining two zones and in the Meenakshy River. The bodies of three who died in the accident were found earlier. The dead have been identified as Anmol Dodrai from Jharkhand, Bikash Kumar Singh from Bihar, and Chandrabhan Pal from Madhya Pradesh.

Meantime, there is light rain in the area now. The bus stuck in the river has been moved to the bank. Since the soil has been moved more, more machines can be brought to the area. However, the authorities are concerned that the rain will pose a challenge to the search. A large team of more than 500 people including NDRF, RRF, Fire Force, and local police is leading the search.

Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary M V Govindan visited the disaster-hit area. The government has announced a dual investigation into the landslide disaster. An expert committee for this will be appointed today.