The number of people who have died in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad district three days ago has gone up to 210, Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said on Friday.
According to the figures released by Riyas at a press conference in Wayanad, 210 bodies, including that of 83 women and 29 children, have been recovered.
Of them, 119 bodies have been handed over to relatives of the deceased persons, the minister said.
Meanwhile in a bright spot amid the gloom, on Friday -- three days after the massive landslides, when hope of finding survivors is dwindling -- rescuers were able to reach a family of four isolated in an area near Padavetti Kunnu and moved them to a relief camp, he said.
Around 1,374 rescue personnel are continuing search operations in the landslide-hit areas, the minister said.
Additionally, ground penetrating radars and drones are also being used as part of the search-and-rescue operations, he said.
The minister said 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.
In the morning, Kerala ADGP M R Ajith Kumar had said that approximately 300 people are still missing.
Earlier, the district administration said that around 133 body parts were recovered from the disaster-hit areas and the Chaliyar river.
So far, 328 autopsies, including that of body parts, have been performed, it further said.
As many as 264 people have been injured in the disaster; 177 of them have been discharged from hospitals, two have been referred to other medical institutions and 85 continue to undergo treatment in various hospitals in the district, the local administration said.
Earlier, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said in a Facebook post that ICUs have been prepared in government hospitals in Wayanad for the treatment of those seriously injured in the landslides.
Speaking about the body parts recovered from the landslide sites, she said that genetic samples have been collected from them.
In the morning, Wayanad District Collector Meghashree D R said that they were in the process of identifying whom the body parts belong to, using genetic testing.
The district administration, meanwhile, said that around 9,910 people displaced by the landslides have been moved to 94 relief camps in Wayanad.
Several people remain missing and rescue teams are battling adverse conditions, including waterlogged soil, as they search through destroyed homes and buildings looking for survivors and bodies.
