Wayanad disaster: 31 unidentified bodies, 158 body parts to be interred after prayer

Wayanad: On the seventh day of Kerala’s worst-ever natural disaster, a huge mass burial will take place on Monday afternoon, said the state’s Revenue Minister K. Rajan in the aftermath of the landslide at Wayanad that took place in four villages in the wee hours last Tuesday.

“The mass burial will take place on 64 cents of land owned by the Harrison Malayalam plantation in Meppadi panchayat on Monday afternoon. It includes 31 full bodies which have not been identified and 158 various body parts,” said Rajan.

“We will keep the bodies for the people to identify till noon and then all the unclaimed bodies will be numbered, so would be each and every body part. Then it will be put into a box and buried. After the burial takes place we will write the number on the outside. Samples of each and every body part and also the full bodies have been taken and send for DNA tests and once the report comes, we will do what needs to be done,” said Rajan.

According to the Disaster Management Act, 10 bodies can be interred in one cent of land, but here the state government decided to inter only seven bodies/parts in one cent of land. One cent is equal to 435.56 square feet.

The mass burial will be held after an all-religion prayer.

This takes place as the rescue operations entered the seventh day when the toll touched 388 with 180 people still missing after the massive landslides and floods at Wayanad, last Tuesday.

The over 1,500-strong rescue team comprising personnel from all the Defence forces, NDRF, SDRF, police, fire service and volunteers began searches early on Monday morning in the four worst-affected areas of Churalmala, Velarimala, Mundakayil, and Punchirimadom.

IANS