Wayanad Landslides: Chinese, French Envoys Extend Condolences To Victims, Kin Of Deceased

Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong and French envoy to India Thierry Mathou on Tuesday extended their condolences to those affected in Wayanad landslides that have killed at least 123 persons and injured 128 others, with numbers expected to rise.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the tragic landslides in Wayanad, Kerala. Our thoughts and hearts are with the people there and bereaved families,” Feihong said in a post on social media site X.

“WayanadLandslides | Deeply pained by the tragic news coming out of Kerala. On behalf of France, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims, and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” French envoy Thierry Mathou said in a social media post.

British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron reposted a social media post on Wayanad landslides to show solidarity with those impacted by the natural disaster.

The landslide was one of the worst natural disasters to strike Kerala. With hundreds trapped under the debris, sparking fears of mounting fatalities, rescue agencies were racing against time to pull out any survivors.

Earlier, speaking at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram about the massive tragedy, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: “Due to the intense rainfall, landslides occurred, and an entire region has been destroyed. Ninety-three bodies have been recovered so far.” He said 128 people are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

“Children who went to sleep last night, including infants, are among those who lost their lives in this disaster and are now buried under the earth. The floodwaters swept away many people. Sixteen bodies were recovered from the Chaliyar River in Pothukallu in Malappuram district (neighbouring Wayanad), and body parts were also found,” Vijayan said.

“This is one of the most severe natural disasters our state has ever seen,” he said.

He said 34 bodies have been identified, and 18 of them have been handed over to relatives of the deceased persons. More than 3,000 people have been shifted to 45 relief camps set up in the district, Vijayan added.

He said the first landslide occurred at 2 am, followed by another at 4.10 am, adding that Meppadi, Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas have been cut off and the Chooralmala-Mundakkai road has been destroyed.

Wayanad is famed for the tea estates that crisscross its hilly countryside and which rely on a large pool of casual labourers for planting and harvest.

Images published by the National Disaster Response Force showed rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carrying bodies on stretchers out of the area.

Homes were caked with brown sludge as the force of the landslide scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site.

India’s army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search-and-rescue efforts.