Death toll climbs to 108 in India landslides
Landslides in India triggered by pounding monsoon rains struck tea plantations and killed at least 108 people on Tuesday, with at least 250 others rescued from mud and debris, officials said. The southern coastal state of Kerala has been battered by torrential downpours, with blocked roads into the disaster area in Wayanad district complicating relief efforts. "93 dead bodies have been found so far," Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters. "This is one of the worst natural calamities that our state has seen." Another 128 people had been hospitalised for treatment after their rescue, he said. "My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media platform X. Wayanad is famed for the tea estates that crisscross its hilly countryside and which rely on a large pool of casual labourers for planting and harvest. Several estates in the district were hit by two successive landslides before dawn when most of their inhabitants were asleep. Images published by the National Disaster Response Force showed rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carry bodies on stretchers out of the area. Homes were caked with brown sludge as the force of the landslide scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site. India's army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search-and-rescue efforts. Kerala state excise minister M.B. Rajesh said more than 250 people had been rescued so far, The Hindu newspaper reported. Modi's office said families of victims would receive a compensation payment of US$2,400. More rainfall and strong winds were forecast in Kerala on Tuesday, the state's disaster management agency said. (AFP)