Five Workers Still Missing as Search Enters Second Day After Kalladi Landslide

Meppadi: The search for five missing workers continued for a second day on Wednesday following the landslide at Kalladi in Wayanad. The workers, all migrant labourers, went missing after the landslide struck the tunnel construction site on Tuesday.

A 162-member search team drawn from various agencies, along with volunteers, is carrying out rescue operations across four sectors. Two cadaver dogs have also been deployed to assist in the search.

The workers were engaged in the construction of the Anakkampoyil–Kalladi–Meppadi tunnel road, which connects Wayanad and Kozhikode districts. The missing workers have been identified as Mohammad Imran, Bikram Singh Rana, Rahul Sharma, Rakesh, and Ansari.

Authorities have begun removing debris from the road and the banks of the Meenakshi River as part of the search operation. With the clearance work progressing, tourists and others who had been stranded in the Chooralmala area have been able to leave. However, strict traffic restrictions remain in force on the Meppadi–Chooralmala road.

Three migrant workers were killed in the landslide. Their embalmed bodies were handed over to Dilip Buildcon, the contractor executing the tunnel project, after post-mortem procedures at Government Medical College Kozhikode.

The deceased have been identified as Anmol Dodrai from Jharkhand, Bikash Kumar Singh from Bihar, and Chandrabhan Pal from Madhya Pradesh. Anmol's body was flown to Ranchi on an IndiGo flight on Wednesday night. Dilip Buildcon said the bodies of the other two workers would also be transported to their native places.