Another landslip hits Gap Road

Idukki: Three days after a major landslip hit Gap Road near Munnar on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway, another major landslip occurred on the stretch on Friday morning. A portion of the national highway was destroyed in the landslip and a road-protection wall also collapsed. The latest landslip occurred 300m from the site of Tuesday’s landslip.

A joint search by national disaster response force (NDRF), fire force and police to trace the body of Kalaiarasan (22), a Tamil Nadu resident, who went missing on Tuesday, failed to yield any result on the third day, said officials. Two youths had gone missing after the landslip on Tuesday. The body of Udayan (19), a TN resident, was recovered from a gorge on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, district geologist B Ajayakumar said that he will discuss the condition of the road with the district collector and submit a detailed report. “There is a special land structure in the Gap Road region. The area has fully fresh rock interlayered with sandy clay,” he said. TNN