A major landslide was reported at Kalladi near Meppady in Wayanad on Tuesday, with apprehensions that some people may be trapped under the debris, Fire and Rescue Services officials said.
According to officials, the landslide occurred near Meenakshi Bridge at Kalladi, where work on a tunnel road project connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts was underway.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Kalpetta rushed to the spot, and search operations have started.
Officials said local residents rescued three persons from the site, where workers associated with the tunnel project were staying. While the Kerala chief minister said that one person was killed, seven were injured, and seven others are missing in the landslide.
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There are also a few houses and homestays in the area, they added.
Apart from that, a few vehicles that transport tunnel employees were damaged in the landslide. Authorities said the area received 265 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours, with the incessant downpour believed to have triggered the landslide
Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also been deployed for the rescue operation.
Minister T Siddique and the District Collector are coordinating the search efforts and verifying whether more people are trapped in the affected area, officials said. The work for Anakkompoyil-Meppadi started last year, connecting Malappuram and Wayanad districts.
In a post on X, Kerala chief minister V. D. Satheesan said that directions have been given to start rescue operations without further delay.
"Revenue Minister A.P. Anil Kumar and Agriculture Minister T. Siddique have been directed to proceed to Wayanad immediately. I also spoke with the District Collector over the phone," his post said.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters after, said that the contractors had been told much in advance by the 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 said after reviewing the situation with officials of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) at their office.
"It is an unfortunate incident. Rescue efforts are going on," he added.
Responding to a question from reporters, Satheesan said that non-issuance of an appropriate weather alert was not the reason for the landslide, and it was caused due to the mud not being removed in time as directed by the authorities.
The landslide brought back the horrors from two years back when Wayanad faced its worst disaster in July 2024. Torrential rain unleashed multiple slope failures in the Meppadi region, claiming more than 400 lives, leaving scores missing, and flattening villages including Chooralmala and Mundakkai.