NEW DELHI — The death toll of Tuesday's massive landslides in India's southern state of Kerala rose to 256, confirmed the state's Health Minister Veena George on Thursday while speaking to local media.
She said one of the main focuses of the state government was to prevent the spread of contagious diseases in the area, since it was still raining there and bodies lay under the rubble of the landslides.
"So far we have conducted post-mortem on 256 dead bodies, which includes human body parts too. 154 dead bodies have been handed over to the district administration after the post-mortem. Genetic samples of human body-parts recovered are being collected and DNA tests on dead bodies are also being conducted. It will help us in identifying the dead bodies and human limbs at a later stage," the minister told media.
READ MORE: Landslides in India's Kerala kill at least 93, hundreds still missing
"I visited the hospitals and relief camps. Our priority is to provide psychological support, and focus on controlling contagious diseases," said the official.
According to her, another 220 persons were still missing, and the rescue work was on to pull out the injured persons from under the rubble of the landslides.
Within a span of two hours three landslides had hit the Meppadi area of Kerala's Wayanad district early on Tuesday morning amid heavy rain, while the people were still asleep. The tragedy was described as one the biggest in recent times in the southern state.
READ MORE: Kerala landslides: Excavators used in search for bodies as toll rises to 166
Meanwhile, at least 11 people died after heavy rain lashed various parts of northern India on Thursday and more than 250 people were missing after downpours in the Himalayas, including pilgrims stranded on a famous pilgrimage route.
State-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 183 mm (seven inches) of rain in the past 24 hours in the famous tourist destination of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh state.
Indian Express newspaper reported that four people were killed after a cloudburst in Uttarakhand state and 200 pilgrims were stranded after rain washed away a part of their walking path.
READ MORE: Death toll from flash floods in Indian Himalayan climbs to 74
Torrential rains, which, along with unabated construction have frequently triggered deadly flash floods and landslides in the mountains of India and neighboring Pakistan and Nepal over the past few years, have been attributed to climate change.
Waterlogging in national capital
In the capital Delhi, residents were caught unawares by a sudden bout of intense rain on Wednesday evening, with a total 147 mm (5.8 inches) recorded in eastern parts of Delhi and its suburbs by IMD.
At least five people died, according to local media.
With Reuters inputs
