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Rescue Operations at Malappuram Landslide Site Called Off, 11 Still Missing

Rescue operations at Kavalappara, the site of the deadly landslide in Kerala’s Malappuram district, have been called off. While 48 bodies have been found over a seven-acre area the site over the past 18 days, eleven people are still missing.

The decision to call off operations was taken jointly by rescue personnel and the families of those who are missing.

The reason is that the remaining houses are buried at least 10-12 feet deep, and it is proving extremely difficult even for earth-moving machines to remove the tonnes of soil required to get there. The wet soil had compounded the challenge.

Army, Fire Force, National Disaster Response Force and police personnel, along with several volunteers, have been combing the area ever since the deadly landslide that took place on August 8. Members of the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad brought radars to assist the search, but without much success.

The state government has offered a sum of Rs 10 lakh for families who lost their homes or land in the landslide. Relatives of deceased will get Rs 4 lakh each.

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