Wayanad disaster toll at 413, search for missing 152 continues

Wayanad, Aug 8 (IANS) The death toll in the landslide-affected Wayanad in Kerala reached 413 on Thursday as the search for 152 missing people continued on day 10.

Over 1,000 people from the Defence and other agencies led by a team of officials began the search operations early morning.

Like in the past few days, a few teams continue to search areas where the Chaliyar River originates in Wayanad and passes through the Malapurram district. A total of 78 bodies and over 150 body parts have been recovered.

The standard operating procedure which is being followed on the bodies and the body parts being recovered from the river is that they are first sent for DNA tests and then kept for the survivors for identification. Later these bodies and body parts are interned in the land taken from the Harrison Malayalam plantations which has now been converted into a burial ground. In front of every grave, there is a number and when the DNA results come out, if it matches the family, then they will be able to know that it was their kith or kin.

In the affected areas, there are over 100 relief camps where more than 10,800 people are housed. They are waiting to be moved out to other places, as the Local Self government in the locality are searching for homes that are locked and also buildings which are not used by the state government.

State Education Minister V. Sivankutty said they are doing their best to see that schools in the area reopen and until then the mode of education will be online.