A massive landslide took the lives of 3 migrant workers in Southwestern Kerala, India.
This disaster occurred at a construction site where the said workers are part of the crew working on the Anakkampoyil–Kalladi tunnel road project at Kerala’s Wayanad district.
Aside from the confirmed deaths, 7 more were also declared missing, and more than 10 people were injured in the incident.
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan urgently ordered a search and rescue operation for the missing civilians.
AThe Chief Minister assured that rescue teams are working hard to recover missing people despite the continuous rainfall that hinders operations.
Additionally, authorities said the disaster was not caused by rain alone but rather by major negligence made by man.
On June 20, a formal government order was given to the company to remove excavated dirt that had been piled up at the site. However, the company failed to comply at a certain time, which led to the rain triggering a landslide with those unattended dirt piles.
The state’s mountainous terrain is given by which several landslides are expected amidst extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall.
In line with this, the government of Kerala already ordered and helped local residents to shift to a safer location to prevent tragedies, as disaster may strike again. – Aliyah Mae Nono, ERUTOV News