Divya with her son Lakshith.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Siddapura, Kodagu: The body of Divya, a woman from Karnataka's Nelyahudikeri along with her family members who went missing after landslides at Wayanad was traced on Friday.
Nelyahudikeri Nalvathekare resident Ponnamma had said that her daughter Divya (35) was married to Chooralmala in Wayanad.
After the landslides, nine family members including Divya had gone missing. Ponnamma had appealed to trace her daughter and her family members.
On Friday evening, bodies of eight members were traced, said the family members.
The bodies of Divya and her son Lakshith were found together. Divya used to work at a hospital in Wayanad
As per the district administration, till Saturday night, 219 bodies and over 143 body parts were recovered with 206 persons missing.
Advanced radars, drones, and heavy machinery were used by rescue teams on Saturday, the fifth day of the tragic landslides that killed hundreds in Kerala's Wayanad district, to locate survivors or deceased.
The state government also announced plans to establish a new township to rehabilitate displaced victims. Stepping up the rescue operations, nearly 1,300 personnel from various forces, including the NDRF, K-9 Dog Squad, Army, Special Operation Group, Madras Engineering Group, Police, Fire Force, Forest Department, Navy, and Coast Guard were deployed in the disaster-struck areas.
Yesterday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the search and rescue operations have entered their final stages. Addressing the media here, he also said there was difficulty in identifying the dead bodies and parts recovered from the Chaliyar river.
Referring to the rehabilitation efforts, Vijayan said a secure region will be identified and a township will be constructed. "The government plans a comprehensive rehabilitation process for the survivors, aiming for swift completion.
"A new, safer area will be identified for constructing a township. The Education Minister will visit Wayanad to ensure that children's education is not disrupted," Vijayan told the reporters.
The CM said the state has received offers from the Congress party and the Karnataka government to build 100 houses each for rehabilitating those who have lost everything in the disaster. He said similar offers to build houses have been made by others too.
(With PTI inputs)