Kerala Landslide Death Toll Hits 224

State chief of southern India's Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, said the revised death toll in Wayanad's deadly landslides was 224 as rescuers looked for more missing bodies.

Indian Army soldiers used a cadaver dog to search for bodies trapped under the rubble. Zonal administrative officials chlorinated several wells as a precautionary measure to prevent the spreading of diseases.

Heavy rain in the southern coastal state of Kerala, one of India's most popular tourist destinations, led to landslides in its Wayanad district, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept.

It was the worst disaster in the state since deadly floods in 2018. Nearly 1,600 people have been rescued from the hillside villages and more than 8,000 people were being sheltered in camps across the district, authorities said.

Victims of a landslide in the Indian state of Kerala were buried in a mass burial ceremony.

Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Sikh faith leaders offered prayers for the victims before the burials.

Heavy rain in Kerala, one of India's most popular tourist destinations, led to the landslides in its Wayanad district early last Tuesday, sending torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders downhill and burying or sweeping people to their deaths as they slept.

Experts said they had seen Tuesday's disaster coming for years and several government reports in the past 13 years had warned that over-development in the ecologically sensitive areas would increase the risk of landslides and other environmental disasters such as floods by blocking natural water flows. The warnings were largely ignored or lost in bureaucratic wrangling.