Idukki landslide: Cold hampers operation, yet preserves bodies

IDUKKI: The death toll in the Pettimudy- Rajamala landslide rose to 52 with the recovery of six more bodies, even as heavy fog and rainfall combined with near sub-0°C conditions to hamper rescue and recovery operations at the site.

Ironically, these very conditions are proving to be a factor in ensuring that the bodies don’t decay.

"There is no stink of dead bodies in the area. Normally after three days they start to rot. But due to the cold weather, we noticed that the bodies were mostly intact," Devikulam sub-collector S Premkrishnan told TOI.

"Fog shrouded the whole area in addition to heavy rain, which continued from morning to evening. We need to find five more persons from layams 3 and 4. We estimate that 13 people are missing from layams 1 and 2. More bodies of residents of layams 1 and 2 were recovered from the river. We are looking for more," he said.

"The sniffer dogs had been very helpful in tracing bodies over the past days. But as the climate turns chilly they are prone to fall sick. We can't employ them in these conditions," Premkrishnan said.

The bodies of Chelladurai, 55; Rekha, 7; and Rathayya, 55, were among those recovered today. He said that out of the 18 missing, nine are children.

Meanwhile, the district administration shifted 65 families, including one that survived the incident, to a safe place.

The NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) team, with the support of police, fire force, forest guards and other agencies continued the search for missing persons on Tuesday. They were assisted by earthmovers. Some of the bodies were recovered from under 15 ft of slushy debris.

State human rights commission member, P Mohanadas, has directed the state chief secretary and revenue principal secretary to provide eligible compensation to the families of those killed in the landslide. Discrimination in compensation is a violation of human rights, he added.

Palakkad fire & rescue team for relief work

A special 15-strong Palakkad district fire & rescue services and civil defence team has been dispatched to Pettimudy.

The team is specially equipped for rescue operations, said Arun Bhaskar, district fire & rescue services officer.

The team was drawn from the fire & rescue services units of Palakkad, Chittur, Mannarkkad, Kanjikode, Shoranur and Vadakkumchery, he added.