Five dead in Kerala landslide at tunnel site

At least five people were killed, many injured and missing after a rain-soaked mound of excavated earth gave way at the site of a multi-crore tunnel project Kerala’s Wayanad district. A massive landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on a tunnel road project connecting Kozhikode and Wayanad districts was underway. The accident site is close to the Mundakkai-Chooralmala villages, where a devastating landslide claimed many lives in July 2024.

Ministers said the disaster was “manmade” by keeping excavated mud from the tunnel in unscientific way and Police has registered FIR against the contracting company. A landslide happened during 11 am to 11.30 am during the heavy rains. The FIR stated that earth from the upper portion of the tunnel slope collapsed, triggering the landslide.

According to officials, the mound of mud, which had accumulated near Meenakshi Bridge, suddenly collapsing in the rain, bringing down trees and sweeping away barricades near the tunnel site.

In an earlier statement, the district administration said a total of 18 persons were affected by the disaster. Of them, three were killed, 10 are undergoing treatment at Meppadi WIMS Hospital, and the search is on for five others who are still missing. Officials said those living in nearby areas were being evacuated.       

A senior Government official told reporters that there were no workers at the site and that those feared trapped under the mud were engineers and security staff. “If work had been going on there, it would have been a bigger tragedy,” she said. A private bus reportedly used to ferry workers, which was parked at the site, was pushed into the nearby river by the landslide and was lying half-submerged as water flowed through it.

Sniffer dogs of the state police have been deployed at the site to trace those trapped under the thick mud, the statement said. It also said facilities had been made available at the Mundakkai Forest Station and the Chooralmala church hall to shift locals, including members of tribal communities, stranded on both sides of the bridge.

“It is an unfortunate incident. Rescue efforts are under way,” Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said. He added that the necessary rescue forces were reaching the area and that police as well as fire and rescue personnel had already been deployed at the site. Additionally, a defence team was on standby in Thrissur and could be deployed at the site if required, the CM said. All necessary systems for search and rescue would be put in place as soon as possible, he assured.

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Agriculture Minister T Siddique said the incident at the Kalladi tunnel project site was not a natural landslide but a “man-made” one caused by the unscientific dumping of excavated earth. “This is not a natural landslide. It is a man-made one. It occurred due to the unscientific dumping of excavated earth,” Siddique told reporters.