Rashid Padikkalparamban, a resident involved in the relief efforts, said there were at least three landslides in the area starting around midnight, which washed away the bridge connecting the affected area, the Mundakkai estates, to Chooralmala.
“Many people who were working in the estates and staying in makeshift tents inside are feared trapped or missing,” he said. Kerala is prone to heavy rain and flooding, with nearly 400 people killed in one of the worst floods in 2018.
Relief efforts were ongoing on Tuesday (Jul 30), and two helicopters of the Indian Air Force have been mobilised, the Kerala chief minister’s office said in a statement.
Rescue operations were hampered as the area was not reachable by road because of the bridge collapse, Mohsen Shahedi, a senior National Disaster Response Force officer told Reuters.
Rahul Gandhi, who won the recently-contested general election from Wayanad, but resigned as he was also elected from his family bastion in the north, said he had spoken to the state chief minister to ensure coordination with all agencies.