India landslides: at least 44 dead in Kerala with hundreds feared washed away

At least 44 people have died and dozens more are missing after heavy rains led to a series of landslides in the Indian state of Kerala, with rescue operations hampered by the collapse of a main bridge.

Government ministers confirmed the bodies of 44 people had been uncovered so far and hundreds were feared missing after three massive landslides surged down the hills of the Western Ghats in Wayanad in southern India. About 70 people were being treated in hospital for injuries.

The landslides took place in the early hours of the morning, when people were asleep in homes that were crushed as a river of mud, rocks and uprooted trees swept down the steep terrain. Many migrant labourers working on nearby tea and cardamon plantations had been staying in temporary homes and tents that were easily washed away.

A one-year-old child was among the dead, according to local authorities. Many were still missing and feared to have been engulfed in the deadly flow of muddy water that gushed through the area, and rescuers said the death toll was likely to rise.

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Access to the affected sites remained difficult for rescuers amid heavy monsoon rain and destroyed roads, with at least four villages still completely cut off.

More than 200 soldiers were deployed to help in the rescue operation and the army was asked to build a temporary crossing after a bridge in the district that linked the affected forest area to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed.

“The situation is serious. The government has pressed all agencies into rescue,” the forests minister, AK Saseendran, told reporters.

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, was reported to be monitoring the disaster and pledged a full rescue effort to find those still trapped in the debris.

The opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, the former MP for Wayanad, said he was “deeply anguished” by the massive landslides. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones. I hope those still trapped are brought to safety soon,” he wrote on X.

The south Indian state of Kerala has increasingly been hit by flooding and landslides caused by irregular and intense rainfall during monsoon seasons.

In August 2018, almost 500 people died after severe flooding across the state due to unusually heavy rainfall, the worst floods in a century.