Rescue Operation Temporarily Suspended in Idukki

7 August 2013
Cochin

The heaviest monsoon season in about 20 years has forced the State government to take help from the Union government to carry out a study on Idukki district as it continued to face landslips threatening lives and property in several places. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who visited the site of the landslip that killed three people here on Monday, said Central help would be sought to do a comprehensive study of the situation in the district.

The Chief Minister was greeted at the site by the news that rescue workers had not located any more bodies though initial reports suggested that more people, including a group of tourists from Tamil Nadu, may have been caught in the landslide that buried nearly a dozen shops by the side of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi national highway. Three people were killed in the incident.

The good news was confirmed by the district superintendent of police M. Sheik Anwaruddin Saheb who said no man missing reports had been received by the police so far. Rescue operations have been temporarily suspended.

The Chief Minister, who arrived at the site here after landing on the premises of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Neryamangalam in a helicopter, said personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), now engaged in rescue and road clearing operations here, would be diverted to places in neighbouring districts like Ernakulam if the situation demanded.

The Chief Minister, accompanied by the Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash and Rosy Augustine, MLA, said relief for those affected by natural calamities would be speeded up.

Source– http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/rescue-work-suspended-in-idukki/article4996522.ece

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