The Madras Engineering Group of the Indian Army completed the construction of a 190-feet-long Bailey bridge that will help connect the worst-affected areas of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad district, which were hit by devastating landslides on Tuesday.
The construction of the bridge started at 9.30 pm on Wednesday and was completed by 5.30 pm on Thursday.
Major General VT Mathew, GOC-Karnataka and Kerala Sub-Area, crossed the bridge in his official vehicle after the structure, which has a weight-carrying capacity of 24 tonnes, was completed.
“It [the bridge] has made transportation of men and material much easier,” Major General Mathew told NDTV.
“There is hope of finding more people. We have been looking everywhere. Some people are scared of coming out of their houses. There must be people who are unable to contact for help,” he said. “We are searching for bodies too, unfortunately.”
He said the total number of dead has been given by the district officials; however, the army and others in the area have recovered 120 bodies. “The number of dead is much more. These are only the bodies we have recovered,” he added.
“We are looking at deploying radar equipment. We already have sniffer dogs working to find bodies buried deep,” Major General Mathew said.
Thermal scanners are also being used, but it has limited effectiveness as dead bodies do not emit heat, he said.
Earlier, rescue workers had made temporary wooden bridges between landmasses to cross and help stranded people. However, those temporary structures failed during heavy rain on Wednesday.
The materials for building the bridge were flown into Kannur airport from Delhi and Bengaluru and brought to Wayanad by 17 trucks.
Rescuers continue to race against time under harsh conditions to search for survivors trapped in collapsed buildings. The total number of dead has crossed 290.
