Hospital in Meppadi. Rescue crews say the debris field is unusually deep, complicating efforts to locate those still buried.

NDRF, Fire Services and Police Mount a Round-the-Clock Search

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, police, and local volunteers have been working continuously since the collapse, backed by excavators and heavy earth-moving equipment. Persistent rainfall and unstable ground, however, are slowing the operation considerably. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority reported that Wayanad received roughly 265 mm of rainfall in the preceding 24 hours the heaviest single-day total recorded in the district this monsoon prompting a red alert well before the hillside gave way.

Officials Say the Disaster Was Preventable

Unlike many landslides blamed purely on nature, this one has drawn a sharper accusation: negligence. Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan has openly called the incident “man-made,” pointing to roughly one lakh cubic metres of excavated soil that had been left piled at the site instead of being cleared. According to district officials, the danger wasn’t unforeseen the Collector and the State Disaster Management Authority had directed the project’s contractor, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), as early as June 20 to remove the accumulated debris. A follow-up review on June 25 saw the Public Works Department repeat the warning ahead of the monsoon’s peak. Those directions, officials say, were never carried out.

Construction Had Already Been Ordered to Halt

Adding to the controversy, reports indicate the District Collector had ordered construction work suspended nearly two weeks before the landslide, precisely because of the mounting risk. Yet laborers reportedly continued living in camps at the site. Public Works Minister P.K. Basheer squarely placed responsibility on the construction company, saying explicit instructions to remove the hazardous soil pile had gone unheeded. The state government has since ordered a formal inquiry into whether safety protocols and environmental clearances were properly followed throughout the project.

Political Fallout Adds to the Grief

The tragedy has quickly taken on a political dimension. While the ruling administration has blamed the contractor’s inaction, opposition voices have pushed back, arguing the state government cannot fully deflect responsibility for allowing work to continue in a known danger zone. Questions have also surfaced over whether the tunnel project secured proper clearance from the Central Forest and Environment Ministry. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Satheesan convened an emergency review meeting, and Agriculture Minister T. Siddique along with Revenue Minister A.P. Anil Kumar have been dispatched to Wayanad to personally oversee relief and rescue coordination.

Echoes of 2024’s Devastating Toll

For residents of Wayanad, the incident reopens wounds barely two years old. The district is still recovering from the catastrophic Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslides of July 2024, one of Kerala’s deadliest natural disasters, which claimed an official toll of 403 lives a figure many locals believe understates the true human cost. This fresh collapse, occurring almost exactly two years later and in the same ecologically fragile stretch of the Western Ghats, has reignited calls for stronger enforcement of construction safety norms, better soil-disposal practices, and more rigorous slope monitoring before infrastructure projects proceed in high-risk terrain. As search operations continue and engineers assess whether the slope remains stable enough for further rescue work, the priority for authorities remains locating the six workers still missing beneath the debris even as the inquiry into how this disaster was allowed to happen gets underway.

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