At least 50 people killed and hundreds evacuated in India landslides

At least 50 people have been killed and hundreds have been evacuated after landslides swept through southern India .

Heavy rain caused hillsides to collapse and sent rivers of mud and water on homes of workers and villagers in Kerala , a state renowned as one of India's most popular tourist destinations, on Tuesday.

Footage showed emergency workers making their way through rocks and uprooted trees as muddy water gushed through, with many houses destroyed.

One man was seen struggling to free himself after being stuck in chest-high mud for hours, as rescuers were not able to reach him despite multiple efforts.

The hillsides gave way after midnight as workers and their families slept in the Wayanad district of Kerala.

State cabinet minister M B Rajesh told ANI news agency that at least 44 people were killed and 250 had been shifted to temporary shelters, making it the worst disaster in Kerala since 2018 when heavy floods killed almost 400 people.

"We fear the gravity of this tragedy is much more. Rescue operations are being carried out by various agencies on a war footing," Mr Rajesh said.

Nearly 350 families lived in the affected region, mostly tea and cardamom estates, a source at the district collector's office told Reuters.

Army engineers were roped in to help build an alternate bridge after the one that linked the affected area to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, the Kerala chief minister's office said in a statement.

Rashid Padikkalparamban, a resident involved in the relief efforts, said there were at least three landslides in the area starting around midnight, which washed away the bridge connecting the Mundakkai estates to Chooralmala.

"Many people who were working in the estates and staying in makeshift tents inside are feared trapped or missing," he said.

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