Kalpetta: The Indian Army’s Madras Engineering Group completed the construction of a 190-feet-long Bailey bridge within 24 hours, connecting the worst-affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad district. This region was severely impacted by devastating landslides on Tuesday.

The construction began 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, was the first to cross the newly constructed bridge in his official vehicle, testing its weight-carrying capacity of 24 tonnes.

District officials have provided a death toll, but the army and other rescue teams have recovered 120 bodies so far.

The rescue operation involves deploying radar equipment and utilizing sniffer dogs to locate bodies buried under debris. Thermal scanners are being used, but they have limited effectiveness as they cannot detect the heat from dead bodies.

Prior to the construction of the Bailey bridge, rescue workers had built temporary wooden bridges to reach stranded individuals. However, these makeshift structures collapsed under heavy rainfall on Wednesday.

The materials for the Bailey bridge were airlifted to Kannur airport from Delhi and Bengaluru and transported to Wayanad by 17 trucks. This rapid mobilization underscores the urgency and importance of the mission.

Rescue teams are racing against time under challenging conditions to locate survivors trapped in collapsed buildings. The total death toll has now exceeded 290.

Rescue efforts continue relentlessly, with the Indian Army and other agencies working around the clock to provide aid and support to the affected communities in Wayanad.