Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that the main priority now is the rescue of the missing persons and rehabilitation will be initiated at the earliest.
NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi said that over 200 deaths have been declared and bodies were being recovered on Thursday following the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad.
After two massive landslides struck Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday morning, causing extensive destruction, rescue operations are being intensified, political leaders are engaged in discussions, and financial aid is being mobilized for the region.
The number of people who died in the landslides that struck the hilly areas of Meppadi in Wayanad district on Tuesday following incessant rainfall has gone up to 167, the Kerala Revenue Department said today.
In the wake of the devastating landslide in Kerala's Wayanad district, Union Minister George Kurien visited the affected area on Wednesday to assess the ongoing rescue operations.
West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully committed to providing all necessary support for the rescue and relief operations in the Wayanad tragedy.
Congress MP KC Venugopal said on Wednesday that there is a need for maximum support from the Central Government, State Government, and all other state governments to effectively address the tragedy in Wayanad.
The Commandant of the Para Regimental Training, Brigadier Arjun Seagan, said that 500 to 600 personnel from the NDRF, army, state police, forest officials, and volunteers have been carrying out the rescue operations on Wednesday.
The Indian Army has ramped up its rescue operations in Kerala's Wayanad following devastating landslides, successfully evacuating more than 1,000 people from affected areas to safety. As of Wednesday morning, the bodies of around 70 victims have been recovered.
As many as 108 people lost their lives and 128 individuals were injured after massive landslides hit the hilly areas of Kerala's Wayanad earlier on Tuesday.