Wayanad rescuers use GPS, drone pictures to find survivors

Rescue teams on Friday deployed advanced technical gadgets and dogs to pull out possible survivors or remove bodies buried under the debris created by one of the worst natural calamities to have struck Kerala, the Wayanad landslides, even as hands of friendship extended from far corners of the state to the hilly district.

Among them was a Kollam woman who had parted with her meagre savings to benefit the affected persons in Wayanad.

A teaseller, Subaida may not have matched the businesspersons and celebrities who donated lakhs of rupees towards relief and rehabilitation efforts, but her contribution of Rs 10,000 and the family pensions was a gesture worth the mention.

On Friday, rescuers used GPS coordinates from aerial drone pictures and cell phones, including the last location of people who lived in the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad to help locate survivors, amidst accelerated search operations after the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge by the Army.

Raising hopes for life inside a collapsed building, which is thickly covered by mud, rescuers conducting search operations with an advanced radar system in the landslide-hit Mundakkai village have detected a signal indicating breathing.

An official involved in the operation said that a "blue signal" was received on the radar while searching the area where the house was previously located in the severely affected Mundakkai village.

However, the search ended on Friday evening as the rescue personnel concluded a human presence under the debris was unlikely.

In a late evening Facebook post, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the search for life continues, with radars detecting even the slightest movements, offering glimmers of hope.

"Amid the darkness and rubble of the collapsed building, rescuers continue their efforts, determined to find any remaining survivors," he said.

Earlier, a family of four was rescued from an isolated house in an area near Padavetti Kunnu on the fourth day of the deadly landslides, giving hope to hundreds of rescuers, racing against time to search for survivors. With nearly 300 persons still missing, the death toll is expected to go up.

As many as 210 people have died and 273 were injured in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district in the wee hours of July 30.

Additionally, 134 body parts were also recovered, according to the Kerala health department.

The search and rescue operations that resumed early on Friday received an impetus as the Bailey bridge helped the rescue teams to move the heavy machinery, including excavators, and ambulances to the worst-affected Mundakkai and Chooralmala hamlets.

According to official sources, the extent of human loss will emerge when rescuers clear houses covered by debris and wooden logs using heavy machinery.

Authorities reported that many more body parts had been collected and genetic testing was underway to identify the remains.

Kerala PWD minister PA Mohammed Riyas said in the evening that 218 persons are missing, according to the records of the district administration, after taking into account Aadhaar documents, details of tourists, checking with ASHA workers and speaking to people in the relief camps and hospitals.

Earlier in the day, Kerala additional director general of police MR Ajith Kumar said 300 people were still missing.

Around 40 rescue teams along with cadaver dogs are conducting search operations in six zones of the landslides-hit areas -- Attamala and Aaranmala (first), Mundakkai (second), Punchirimattam (third), Vellarimala village (fourth), GVHSS Vellarimala (fifth), and riverbank (sixth), officials said.

In addition to this, a three-pronged search operation has also been launched, focusing on the Chaliyar river. The eight police stations, along the 40-km stretch of the river, have joined forces with local swimming experts to search for bodies that may have flown downstream or trapped along the riverbanks.

Simultaneously, another search operation is being conducted using a police helicopter.

Besides this, the Coast Guard, Navy, and Forest Department also jointly conducted a search operation focusing on the riverbanks and areas where bodies may be trapped.

District collector Meghashree DR said GPS coordinates from aerial drone pictures and cell phones, including the last location of people who lived in the landslide-hit areas, have been used to identify spots where search and rescue operations can be focused.

She also said aerial photographs taken by drones have helped identify GPS coordinates of specific search locations.

"We mapped this data and gave it to all the teams so that the search and rescue operations can proceed efficiently and speedily," she said.

State revenue minister K Rajan, a day ago, had said a drone-based radar from Delhi would arrive on Saturday to locate bodies buried in the mud.

He also said that currently, six dogs are assisting in the search operation and four more will join from Tamil Nadu.

The dogs are using their keen sense of smell to help find survivors trapped in the rubble.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the affected areas.

He said he was going to raise the matter in Delhi and also with Vijayan as "this is a different level of tragedy and should be treated differently".

He promised that the Congress party would build more than 100 houses in Wayanad.