119 Wayanad landslide victims still missing, says Kerala govt’s draft list

KOZHIKODE: The Wayanad district administration on Sunday released the official draft list of the 119 people who are still missing following the devastating July 30 landslides. The initial list mentioned 128 people as missing, but the number was decreased after DNA test results started coming in. The district administration officials said the latest list, however, is not final.

As of August 14, 401 DNA tests have been conducted, and the results of several decomposed body parts are delayed. The officials are trying to complete the process of comparing the DNA from the blood samples of the relatives of the missing persons with the body parts found.

Meanwhile, search for the missing persons in the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides is in progress. The operations are under way in Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas and along the banks of the Soochipara-Chaliyar river. No bodies or body parts have been found in the search conducted in the areas in the past few days.

Volunteers unfamiliar with the area are not allowed to search through the forest at present, and the operations are being carried out under the leadership of the teams from the fire force and the NDRF.