In the aftermath of the catastrophic landslides in Wayanad on July 30, which claimed 225 lives and displaced thousands, search and rescue operations will persist in the affected areas. The Kerala Fire Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), volunteers, and local residents will maintain their efforts to locate missing persons.
As the Indian Army contingent, including the Dog squad, concludes its extended search, rescue, and restoration operations, residents bid them farewell. IG North Zone, K Sethuraman, emphasized that the search is thorough and aims to reassure the affected residents.
The Kerala High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the landslides, with a division bench of Justices Jayasankaran Nambiar and VM Shyamkumar directing the registry to initiate a suo moto case. The court also called for legal measures to prevent future incidents related to illegal mining and flooding.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad on August 10. During a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, the Chief Minister requested the central government to declare the disaster a national calamity. He reported that post-mortems have been conducted on 420 bodies, with 225 confirmed deaths. The search operations are ongoing, and DNA testing is being conducted on body parts found at various locations. So far, 178 bodies have been handed over to relatives, and 233 burials have taken place.
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