Rain pounds Kerala: At least 5 killed after landslide hits settlement of plantation workers in Idukki district

Kochi: At least five people were killed and several trapped beneath debris after a massive landslide buried them alive at Pettimudi workers settlement at Rajamala in the Idukki district of Kerala, around 4 am on Friday, sources said.

The information received so far is that five workers of Tata plantation have died while 10 were rescued out of the 80 workers who were trapped beneath the debris," an official source at Devikulam taluk office said.

A bridge connecting the tragedy site with the mainland collapsed initially, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the spot.

However, police and fire and rescue services personnel are doing their best to coordinate the rescue operations.

A little over 80 people, most of them from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, were living in shelters meant for Kannan Devan plantation workers where the landslide hit.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted, "An NDRF team has been deployed to rescue the landslide victims in Rajamalai, Idukki. Police, Fire Force, Forest & Revenue officials have been instructed to join the rescue efforts. Another team of NDRF, based in Thrissur, will soon reach Idukki."

The state has been on an alert mode for the last week following weather forecasts predicting heavy rainfall in the state.

Rain pounded the Malabar region in Kerala the past few days before spreading to other parts of the state overnight.

Rain has caused widespread damages to properties and agriculture lands in Malabar which forms the northern part of Kerala comprising Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Wayanad districts.