Indian Army Constructs Bridge in 24 Hours for Kerala Wayanad Landslide Rescue

New Delhi:

The Madras Engineering Group of the Indian Army finished the erection of a 190-feet-long Bailey bridge that will help link the most affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad district, which were struck by devastating landslides on Tuesday.

The assembly of the bridge commenced at 9.30 pm on Wednesday and was finalized by 5.30 pm on Thursday.

Major General VT Mathew, GOC-Karnataka and Kerala Sub-Area, traversed the bridge in his authorized vehicle after the framework, with a weight-carrying capacity of 24 tonnes, was finished.

“There is optimism of discovering more individuals. We have been exploring everywhere. Some individuals are fearful of leaving their residences. There may be individuals who are unable to communicate for aid,” he stated. “We are hunting for corpses as well, unfortunately.”

He mentioned the overall number of deceased has been provided by the district authorities; nonetheless, the army and others in the vicinity have retrieved 120 bodies. “The count of deceased is far higher. These are solely the bodies we have retrieved,” he included.

“We are contemplating deploying radar equipment. We already have sniffer dogs operating to locate corpses buried deeply,” Major General Mathew expressed.

Thermal scanners are also being utilized, but it has restricted effectiveness as deceased bodies do not emit heat, he stated.

Previously, rescue personnel had established provisional wooden bridges between landmasses to cross and assist stranded individuals. Nonetheless, those provisional structures collapsed during intense rain on Wednesday.

The components for constructing the bridge were transported into Kannur airport from Delhi and Bengaluru and conveyed to Wayanad by 17 trucks.

Rescuers persist in racing against time under severe circumstances to seek survivors confined in collapsed edifices. The overall number of deceased has exceeded 290.