AT LEAST three people were killed, 10 injured, and five remained missing after a rain-soaked mound of excavated earth gave way at the site of a multi-crore tunnel project in Meppadi panchayat in this hill district. “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. Satheesan said the contractors had been told well in advance by Public Works Department Minister P K Basheer and the district collector to remove the huge quantity of mud accumulated in the area. “However, the contractors did not abide by the directions,” the CM told reporters after reviewing the situation with officials of the Keralam State Disaster Management Authority at their office in Thiruvananthapuram.

 

Responding to a query, Satheesan said the non-issuance of an appropriate weather alert was not the reason for the landslide and that it was caused by the heap of mud not being cleared in time despite directions from the authorities. He said there had been heavy rainfall in the area before the incident. Though it had reduced in intensity, it was still creating difficulties for rescue personnel, the CM added. Keralam 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. The Minister said concerns over the manner in which excavated soil was being dumped at the site had been raised earlier after heavy rains in Wayanad. He said directions had been issued to assess the situation, remove the accumulated earth and stop work if required. “The Government will examine why this happened and why the earlier directions were not followed,” Siddique added.