Wayanad Landslide Rescue operation is continuing for the fifth day since the massive landslide in Wayanad. Even today, more than 1300 rescue workers are engaged in searching for people trapped in the landslide using heavy machinery and state-of-the-art equipment. 

More than 354 people died 

So far, more than 354 people have died due to the landslide in Wayanad. The special thing about the rescue operation is that private companies and volunteers specializing in the field of search and rescue have also joined the operation led by the army, police and emergency service units.

Difficulties in rescue operation

Huge boulders and logs brought by the landslide have piled up in residential areas of Mundakkai and Choorlamalla, posing a major challenge to rescue efforts to locate people trapped under the debris.

300 people suspected to be missing 

So far, 354 people have died and 273 injured in the massive landslide that struck Wayanad district on the morning of July 30. About 300 people are suspected to be missing and rescue teams are battling adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings. 

Search with radar drone

A drone with radar has also been deployed in the rescue operation. The specialty of this drone is that it can search 40 hectares of land at a time while flying at a height of 120 meters from the ground. 

The district administration has spent the past day mapping potential locations for rescue operations using GPS, taking aerial photographs and cell phone location data. They have also used ground penetrating radar and cadaver dog squads to search for bodies buried under the debris.