13 people have reportedly lost their lives in a landslide at a tea plantation settlement inhabited by plantation workers in Rajakkad Idukki district of Kerla in the early hours of Friday.
The authorities have managed to rescue 12 people who are reportedly undergoing treatment at Munnar's Tata General Hospital.
Taluk officials said a connecting bridge was swept away yesterday, making access to the area difficult. Rescue teams have also been slowed by tough terrain.
“We have information that at least 84 people lived in the settlement. Most of them are from neighboring Tamil Nadu. And there was also a canteen to cater to their needs at the settlement,” said Parthasarathy, a social worker from the area. He added that the the toll may go up.
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Locals said that the area has been witnessing heavy rains over the last three days and power and communication networks in the area were disrupted due to this. This delayed the rescue work. Since the mishap took place in the early hours, many of those affected were in deep slumber due to which they couldn’t escape, they said.
“It is a major tragedy. It is a hilly terrain and some roads connecting to the settlement were washed away in torrential rain. We have sought the Air Force help for airlifting the injured but we were told it will be difficult in inclement weather,” said State Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan adding a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has arrived at the scene.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan also took to his twitter to tweet the following message: