Kalladi tragedy: Body of Vikram Rana recovered, toll rises to eight

KALPETTA: One more body has been recovered in the Kalladi tragedy. The body of Vikram Rana of Himachal Pradesh and construction manager was recovered on Sunday. With this, the death toll has risen to eight. The body of Vikram was found in the search conducted this morning. The body was 150 metres away from the bridge. Vikram’s brothers Kulvanth, Pramod and his relative Ankush have reached Wayanad.

Meantime, the authorities have informed that there is progress in the condition of the people undergoing treatment in the hospital following the accident. 132 people from 49 families are continuing in camps. The tragedy will be investigated by a five-member expert committee headed by geologist Dr C P Rajendran. The disaster management department has issued an order in this regard. The other members are environmental scientist Dr Vishnudas, Kerala Chief Wildlife Warden Dr P Pukazhenthi and the secretary of the public works department. The secretary of the revenue and disaster management department will act as the convener.

A detailed investigation will be conducted into the safety lapses, technical errors and violation of environmental permits in the tunnel construction area. The report has to be submitted within a month. The landslide occurred near the Meenakshi Bridge in the Meppadi Kalladi area on July 7.